Homecoming
by Darkness Shade
Summary: After a long hiatus, Ryan's adventures with Sonic and crew restarts after their dimensional trip with changes abound. With everyone finding their own paths in the aftermath of events, will everything turn out okay? Or will a new evil fill the void?


Homecoming…

By

Darkness Shade

Hidden Palace Zone

"So this is it." Said a lone human, looking back at the reflection he saw, "This is what's been going on…what everything's been leading too."

Flexing his hand and lowering his head, it was apparent the figure was in some sort of turmoil.

"Then why didn't it happen when I needed it to? Why couldn't I have had the power…to make a difference?" he sighed, remembering what had happened in the last couple of months…

8 Months ago: Knothole Village

"Are we back?" Ryan asked, rubbing his head and cursing silently at how they still couldn't help dropping him on his head.

"It looks like home." Sonic answered, sniffing the air, "Smells like home too…I can tell the scent of those chili dogs anywhere."

"More crazed snack foods obsession, eh?" Thomas joked, "If it weren't for your speed burning it off, I don't know how you'd keep eating those things the way you do."

"What can I say?" Sonic grinned, "I'll see you guys in town."

"I'm just glad this lovely distraction didn't take too much to end." Metal said, rolling his eyes, "Next time you decide to mess with space/time, don't?"

"Not my fault. Jeez…forgive a human for having crisis of emotions when his friends and family get totally annihilated." Ryan murmured, "Are you saying you preferred biting the big one?"

Metal just looked at Ryan, gave off what could only be a sigh, and headed back to the lab.

"Well, I think we did a good job everyone…all of us pulled through." Sally commented, "I'd been meaning on doing some teamwork exercises since it seemed we were getting a little sloppy, but that unexpected trip sure fixed that nicely."

"Well, at least someone is grateful for no longer being dead." Ryan chuckled, "Let's go get settled in…I think we've had enough fun for right now."

"If only I knew what changes were to occur…and what we would lose."

1 Month Later: Knothole Infirmary

"So he's gone, really? Guess that's what I miss when I knock myself unconscious trying to tinker around with my gadgets." Ryan sighed, "So, I guess I was pretty useless just lying around then."

"I wouldn't sweat it big guy." Sonic said with a smile, "We took him out well enough, we just had plenty of that good luck you always seem to have with you to back us up."

"I know this isn't going to pleasant, but did we lose anyone?" Ryan asked solemnly, his face becoming serious.

Sighing, Sonic sat down next to his friend and looked at him grimly.

"Your friends Justin and Ashley, they got wiped out when the first Swatbot swarm attacked." Sonic sighed, "We lost a lot of people that day…and before you say it, Sally chose not to risk using the Time Stones again. She said that this is something we'll just have to live with…"

"That sounds like her alright; though even if she had wanted to, I don't think Little Planet is still around. What about Zoel? Or Thomas? Or Callie?" Ryan pressed on, needing to know what happened.

"Zoel selflessly gave his life to hold off Robotnik's goons so we could evacuate the prisoners he had captured." Sonic continued, "Thomas vanished when Eggman tried to use his Ultimate Annihilator weapon and we have no idea where he went. As for Callie…she's still alive, but I'm not sure you'll want to see her."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ryan pried, "What else haven't you told me?"

"Along with a number of Mobians, nearly two-thirds of the humans from your world were captured and roboticized." Sonic sighed, "It seems that Callie somehow sees you to blame for this…saying if you hadn't been goofing around with useless crap you could've helped out a lot."

Standing up, Ryan walked over to the window and looked out it, gazing at the serene view of Knothole free of worry, free of Eggman…and maybe soon free of the trouble he'd caused.

"Sonic, I think it's time I moved on." Ryan commented, "Every since I showed up, nothing but trouble has followed me."

"That's not true!" Sonic shouted, "You've helped out a lot…without you, I don't know if we'd ever come as far along at trusting humans again as we've had. We've made a lot of stride with Station Square in becoming allies."

"Perhaps that is true; exposure to one of my kind that isn't a total asshole has done some good." Ryan agreed, "But G.U.N. and the Ark incident and the whole mess with the GUNDAMS…all that could've possibly been avoided had I not come and started this mess. Still, maybe I am being too hasty. I'd better go see how Callie's doing."

"That's the Ryan I know, just don't push too hard, you've been out of it for awhile." Sonic said with a smile.

"Hey, you know me." Ryan grinned before leaving.

'Yeah, I do. That's what's got me worried.' Sonic thought, before catching himself and smacking his head, 'Goodness; is this what Sally thinks whenever I go off and do something?'

Ryan's Lab

"Callie, are you here?" Ryan asked, opening the door and walking into the main room, "It's Ryan. I finally woke up…I heard about everything that happened."

Hearing no response, Ryan walked towards Callie's room and knocked on the door gently before opening it.

There on her bed was Callie, staring blankly at the door and looking right past Ryan.

"Okay." Ryan said, "Callie, hon, you there?"

Walking over to her, Ryan sat down next to her and tried to hug her; Callie seemed to not want to and pulled away from his grasp.

"What's wrong with you? Do you really blame me for what happened to everyone?" Ryan asked.

"You said you wouldn't let anything happen to me." Callie finally spoke up, still looking at the wall.

"I'm sorry…I know I wasn't, but it's not like I could help it." Ryan answered, "I wasn't just working on some random thing…it was something that could benefit all of us."

"I saw them come…I saw those robots come…and they took away my friends, my family." Callie continued, "And turned them into one of them…or worse."

"Callie, I…" Ryan started, before Callie turned around and let him have it.

"You're a liar and no hero!" Callie shouted, pounding Ryan in the chest, "You lied and let our friends die! You let our loved ones become robots! You failed and I never want anything to do with you again!"

"…" Ryan said, unable to form any type of response.

"Just get out of my face you liar! We're through!" Callie shouted before turning around and staring at the wall.

Seeing that he wasn't going to get anywhere, Ryan calmly stood and began walking somewhere in the direction back to Knothole.

'That was unexpected.' Ryan thought, 'It's all my stupid fault for screwing up anyway…I shouldn't have been trying to work on that by myself. I just need…to think.'

Having been so focused on his thoughts, Ryan didn't notice where he was going and then…plunk!

Ryan had fallen into a small grotto near the outskirts of Knothole.

"Oh wondrous; I fell into the damn Ring grotto." Ryan sighed, pulling himself out and sitting down on a nearby log, "I'm soaked."

'It's been awhile since I've been here.' Ryan thought, 'Not since I first arrived on Mobius.'

Looking down at his right arm, he realized just how much things had changed…how much he'd changed.

'I don't know what to do now.' Ryan thought, 'Callie just dumped me, almost all of the humans from my home are now robots lost to who knows where with Robutt gone, and I feel…alone.'

Nodding off slightly after being so drained from his coma and all this unexpected news, Ryan was startled awake when he noticed a strange light.

'Must be a Power Ring.' Ryan thought, grabbing a stick and catching it, 'I'll have to give this to Sonic next time I see him.'

Standing up, Ryan started walking through Knothole, stopping at Sonic's hut.

Knocking on the door, Ryan got no response, so he just slipped the ring under his door and continued on his way.

"I don't know why you didn't want me to answer the door Sal." Sonic said after Ryan had moved on.

"He doesn't need to hear anymore bad news." Sally answered, "He looked like he was in bad shape for the moment."

'I wonder what happened when he went to see Callie.' Sonic thought.

Human Encampment Remains

"This place…a war zone. It's just like when that metal double of mine destroyed it." Ryan reflected, turning about some rubble, "Except there weren't any survivors that time."

'No wonder Callie was so angry…it looks like they were caught completely off-guard.' Ryan thought, noting there wasn't much of a struggle present, 'I just…I…'

Suddenly, Ryan was wracked with pain as he grabbed his sides and fell over on to his knees.

"What's…going on?" Ryan grunted out, the pain making it hard to concentrate, "It feels like…something is trying to get out."

Suddenly, two huge wings sprouted out of his back causing him to scream in agony at the pain…and then they were gone and Ryan was collapsed on the ground, twitching in pain before everything turned black.

Knothole Infirmary

"You humans…you think you're all indestructible." Said a duck dressed in doctor garb, "You come out of a coma and think you can just waltz about."

"Yes mother." Ryan said sarcastically, "I told you, I feel fine now Quack."

"That's Dr. Quack you insolent…look, you can leave, but I'm suggesting you stay in Knothole for now in case something else happens…I'm still not convinced something isn't wrong with you that we just can't see." Quack recommended before leaving.

"Oh yeah, let me just go see if there's a hut for sell." Ryan sighed, getting back up and leaving the room.

"Well, I guess I'll have to eat my words then, won't I?" Ryan pondered to himself, seeing a hut with a Roommate needed sign on it, "Wonder who needs a roommate?"

Knocking on the door, who should answer but one Amy Rose.

"Finally, I thought that sign would do…the…trick?" Amy said, looking up and seeing it was Ryan, "Hey, you weren't supposed to answer that sign."

"Well, I'm sorry Amy, but I've been ordered to stay in Knothole for easier "observation" by Dr. Quack and it's not like a hut can just be poofed in like that." Ryan replied with a shrug, "So, are you serious about wanting a roommate?"

"Yes, though I was hoping Sonic would answer it." Amy sighed, "But I suppose if you need temporary quarters for your health, you can stay with me."

"Don't worry, I don't eat much." Ryan laughed.

"Don't you lie; I've seen you with Sonic having those chili dog contests." Amy replied back, jabbing Ryan's stomach.

"What am I getting in to?" Ryan sighed.

"And so Miss Rose and myself became roommates…and that's when things started getting worse. We got along well enough; I could be cliché and say it was like the Odd Couple but I'm not sure it would be completely truthful. Unfortunately, Callie just became even more distant and cold towards me and I didn't know what I was going to do. Before I knew it a whole month had passed and I hadn't had another fit like before, so I was told I didn't have to stick around."

'Well, Quack said I'd be okay, but I don't know…I still can't shake the feeling I had when that happened.' Ryan thought to himself, sitting outside his and Amy's hut, 'Odd, it was just sunny…how'd those clouds come out of nowhere so fast?'

Suddenly, the wind began to whip up fiercely, forcing Ryan to hold on to the post to keep from getting blown away.

"What's up with the weather all of a sudden?" Ryan said to himself, before hearing a scream, "What's that?"

The winds apparently had kicked up enough to send Mobians flying and Ryan saw a familiar face go flying by.

"Amy!" Ryan said, seeing her flying towards him, "Grab a hold!"

"Ryan?" Amy shouted, seeing his hand and barely grabbing on, "What's going on?"

"I don't know, just hold on!" Ryan said, pulling her close and shielding her from the wind, "I can't have you flying away again."

Then, as suddenly as it came upon Knothole, the wind died down and everyone could catch their bearings.

"I've never seen weather do that before…I wonder if anyone else was affected." Ryan thought aloud, "Hopefully Sonic and Tails didn't get caught up in anything like this while they're out looking for Ixis."

"You can let me down you know." Amy said, blushing slightly at still being held by Ryan.

"Oh dear." Ryan chuckled, letting Amy go, "Sorry about that Amy, my mind was just elsewhere."

"So I could tell…I'm sure Sonic is fine." Amy said, suddenly becoming very quiet and seemingly upset.

"Amy?" Ryan asked, "Is something wrong?"

"Just…you wouldn't understand!" Amy shouted, running off and leaving Ryan standing their quite confused.

'Now what the hell was that all about?' Ryan thought to himself, sighing as he went to see if the wind had damaged anything.

Later on…

"I think that's it." Ryan said, plopping down and lying back in his bed, "Thankfully it was only minor stuff that got damaged; unfortunately it decided to start raining heavily just after we started repairs."

Looking over at Amy's bed, it had become soaked thoroughly and was in no way useable.

"I'll let Amy use my bed and I'll flop on the couch or something." Ryan sighed, "What was up with Amy anyway? She's been acting weird ever since Sonic left…I figured that's why, but this is even weirder than usual."

Standing up, Ryan walked over to the window and watched the rain come pouring down.

'I really hope Amy isn't out in that storm.' Ryan thought, 'It's not that late yet though, so she could just be off cooling her head. She did seem a bit out of sorts after I helped her from getting blown away.'

Ryan's face suddenly contorted in thought and he hurriedly shook his head.

'No way that's possible…where did that thought come from anyway?' Ryan thought to himself, trying to laugh it off, 'Still…with how Callie had been treating me and my best buds gone, I do feel kind of…alone.'

Awakened suddenly by a huge crash of thunder, Ryan suddenly realized he'd fallen asleep waiting for Amy to get back.

Reaching for his glasses, he put them on only to see that Amy had not yet returned and the storm was still raging.

"Okay, now I'm worried." Ryan said to himself, looking at his watch for the time, "3 in the morning? Okay, I've got to go look for her."

Hastily throwing on a raincoat and grabbing Amy's umbrella, Ryan rushed out the door and headed to where he thought she might be.

'Sonic's hut is too obvious, she couldn't get in anyway. Neither would she go to where he stores the Tornado. I doubt she'd be at my lab, even though it's probably the quietest place around with only Callie…there. So she has to be there.' Ryan thought as he hurriedly ran to the only place she could possibly be.

Ring Pool

Amy sat there in the rain, hugging a ring close to her.

'No one even bothered to come looking for me.' Amy thought to herself, 'Would he even come looking for me if he was here?'

Unbeknownst to anyone, Amy finally confronted Sonic about her feelings for him and asked if anything would ever come of it.

As typical, Sonic tried to outrun it but Amy was not so easily deterred this time, managing to keep pace with him; forcing Sonic to finally settle this with her.

The answer she got was the one she figured but that didn't make it hurt any less; nor did his manner about how he 'rejected' her…to her, that was the worst part of this.

'He was so harsh about it, more so than he should've been.' Amy sighed, 'It's my fault for pushing him so much. I knew he'd never go for me; I'm just some hopeless fan girl he'd never think about.'

That was why Amy just ran off when Ryan saved her; the way he protected her made her feel just how Sonic had when he would save her: warm and happy.

'And I was just kind of unfeeling towards him.' Amy thought, 'Am I falling for him? That's silly…he has someone, at least I think he does. That Callie girl…but, I've seen them bump into one another and they've been really distant in how they react to one another. I do remember overhearing Sonic and him talk about that…She must be pushing him away because she sees him as the reason her life got worse.'

Amy blinked and laughed slightly at her contemplation, before breaking down into soft crying at how she always seemed to fall for guys who wouldn't pay attention to her.

She sat like this for what seemed forever, she'd lost track of time with the clouds blotting out the sun like they were; till suddenly she heard her name.

"Huh?" Amy murmured, looking for the source.

"Amy!" Ryan shouted, "I know you're here…blast it all I can't see through this thick rain."

"That's Ryan." Amy whispered, "He came looking for me in this weather?"

"Amy!" Ryan said, approaching the ring pool and spying her sitting underneath a tree, "There you are…why are you sitting out here in this rain, you're going to freeze." Ryan said with a smile, opening up the umbrella and holding it over her, "Come on, let's go home."

"Why did you come?" Amy asked, "Did someone send you to find me?"

"No, I awoke to discover you still gone and I'm not going to let my roomie go missing." Ryan grinned, "So come on, let's get you home and dried off, you look like you could use some rest."

"Ryan…" Amy said, smiling up at him, before shouting, "Look out!"

Having been caught off-guard while watching out for Amy, Ryan hadn't seen the lighting strike the tree they were under, sending a large branch plummeting towards them.

Without having much chance to react, Ryan quickly grabbed Amy and kept her underneath him, shielding her.

"Ryan!" Amy shouted, seeing him wince as the branch landed on him, "You idiot…"

"Hey, I'm okay. My arm took the brunt of it…I've been needing a reason to upgrade it anyway." Ryan chuckled, playing it off, "Anyway, I appear to have gotten us all muddy. I apologize."

"You dork…I'm just glad you'll be okay." Amy said, a slight blush across her face.

"Are you…are you blushing?" Ryan asked, slightly confused.

"I…well, I…" Amy tried to blurt out, but only succeeding in blushing further.

"Okay, I get the point." Ryan said, pushing the branch away and standing up, then picking Amy up, "Well, let's get back home, I feel pretty funky now."

Amy just relaxed in his arms and allowed herself to just fall in to a relaxed state.

'I've got a crush on a human…what is wrong with me?' Amy thought to herself, 'Still, if I didn't know any better, it would seem as if he's become fond of me…I wonder.'

After allowing Amy to shower and then obtaining a shower himself, Ryan flopped down on the couch.

"What are you doing?" Amy asked, sitting on the bed.

"Well, I figured I'd let you use my bed since yours got all wet before I could fix the damage to the hut." Ryan explained.

"You don't have to do that silly." Amy chuckled, "I won't bite you know."

"Well, I…I mean, wouldn't that be awkward?" Ryan asked, eyeing her curiously.

"Oh come now, we're roomies…are you afraid I'll take advantage of you?" Amy laughed loudly, "Is that it?"

"You know, Rosy the Rascal, you're asking for trouble." Ryan said, getting up, "Taunting me verily can not go unpunished."

"And what would the oh-so terrifying human do to me?" Amy grinned, taunting him further.

"This!" Ryan said, tackling her and preceding to tickle her to death.

"Ack! Ryan!" Amy shouted, laughing uncontrollably, "Stop! HA! Stop this! Heh! I'm sorry!"

"That's all I wanted." Ryan said, stopping his assault, "If you so insist, I shall be glad to share this resting place with you, you crazy pink hedgehog."

"That was so unfair." Amy said, flopping on her side of the bed.

"You brought it on yourself." Ryan said, putting away his glasses, "Trying to be fresh and everything."

"Oh, I'm sure you're just beaming inside." Amy winked, "Getting to sleep with a cutie like me."

"Heh, you wish." Ryan laughed, turning off the light.

With that Ryan was soon fast asleep, while Amy just looked at him and smiled.

After noting that he was asleep, Amy crawled over and snuggled up to him.

'I said I wouldn't bite, but I didn't say anything about anything else.' Amy thought, noting how comfortable he was.

The next morning, Ryan was the first to awake and noticed Amy decided to get "comfortable" last night, latching on to him.

'Oh dear…well, at least she didn't bite.' Ryan chuckled to himself, slowly breaking from her hold and getting dressed for the day.

Amy awoke some time later to what smelled like breakfast.

"Ryan?" Amy mumbled, "Was it a dream? I don't think it was."

"Oh, there's the sleepy-head." Ryan said, seeing Amy walk into the kitchen, "It's nothing much, but I figured you might be hungry when you woke up."

Amy sat down and smiled, but didn't say anything…in truth, she felt slightly out of sorts.

"It may look like a face, but it won't bite." Ryan said, officially running out that jokes' welcome, "So go ahead and eat, we've got some things to do today."

"Huh?" Amy gasped, brought out of her sleep induced stupor, "What do you mean?"

"I've got some things to prepare and I need your help." Ryan answered, finishing up his breakfast, "So finish your breakfast; no need to rush, but I'd like to get things going soon."

'What's he up to? He couldn't…no way.' Amy thought, eating her breakfast, 'Maybe I wasn't wrong…'

"So why are we heading to your lab again?" Amy asked, walking with Ryan.

"I need to pack some things…I've been thinking and I finally decided on something last night." Ryan said, finally spying the lab he'd made into his home for quite some time.

"What?" Amy queried, curious as to what was going through his head.

"Something I've wanted to do for awhile now…take a vacation." Ryan answered, opening the door to the lab and seeing it was empty, except for Metal sitting at the control panel looking bored.

"Huh? Ryan? Finally, someone who's bound to spice things up." Metal joked, standing up, "It's been too quiet without our friends…and with Sonic gone I can't challenge him to a rematch like I've been wanting to."

"I'm sure you'll get that rematch one day Metal." Ryan laughed, "Is anyone else here or has Callie moved on?"

"It's just me…Callie disappeared one day and never came back." Metal replied, "She seemed to be really out of it too…almost like she wasn't herself."

"Well, I can't blame her…we both lost our family when Robotnik ramped things up some time ago." Ryan stated, sighing at how he was useless, "I just came to pack a few things before I go out of town."

"Out of town, eh? So you're leaving too?" Metal pried, looking at Amy, "Bringing anyone along?"

"Is that your subtle way of asking to come along?" Ryan joked, "Well, I'd planned on bringing some company, if she wanted to that is."

"You mean me?" Amy asked, a little surprised, "Why me?"

"Well, getting to be your roommate for some time let me see a side of you I didn't know was there…and I don't mean that one time I accidentally came home while you were changing." Ryan laughed, "Oh, you weren't too happy about that. I had welts from your Piko Piko Hammer for two weeks after that."

"At least it taught you to always knock though." Amy joked, lightly jabbing Ryan, "Anyway, I'm always up for some off time…I'll tag along."

"Everyone's leaving…it's going to be so dull." Metal sighed, seeming more pathetic than usual.

"If you want Metal, you can tag along too." Ryan offered, "I'm sure you can find something to do where we're going. I'd almost forgotten he was there; you could hang out with the re-programmed Silver."

"Silver Sonic? That clunker?" Metal scoffed, "No offense, but he wasn't the quickest of us copycat Sonics."

"This one was…I think he was Silver MKIII or something." Ryan quipped, "He was pretty damn fast the way he gave us a run for our money."

"You've piqued my interest human…I'll accompany you on this escapade of yours." Metal admitted, "I'm ready when you are."

"Okay, good…you go make sure our ride is up to snuff while we take care of some other things." Ryan replied, before wincing slightly.

"Ryan?" Amy asked softly with a touch of worry in her voice.

"I'm okay Amy." Ryan answered back, smiling, "Nothing to worry about."

After packing his suitcase (and waiting as Amy packed her whole closet), Ryan and Metal loaded up their luggage and prepared the ship.

"Are you sure you guys are going to be okay here with me leaving too?" Ryan asked, "With Sonic and Tails and now me along with Amy and Metal heading off that leaves us a little light-handed around here."

"We'll be fine." Sally assured him, "With Robotnik gone we don't really have much to worry about except restoring Mobotropolis to its former self."

"Well, if you're sure about that." Ryan replied, "You know where we'll be at, so don't feel bad about contacting us if something decides to hit the fan. Eggman might be gone but anything he laid a hand on isn't."

"We'll be fine…besides with how you've been lately, I think a vacation would do you some good." Sally said, waving it off, "Though, you've got some interesting traveling companions, that's for sure."

"Oh, well, Metal was getting bored cooped up here and Amy, well, even if I said no she'd probably still tag along so there's no point in worrying about that." Ryan chuckled, "We'll try to remember we have a place to return to after a little relaxation. If Sonic and Tails get back before us, make sure to welcome them back for us and tell Sonic that Metal wants a rematch."

"I will, now get out of here you crazy human." Sally laughed, "Just don't forget to have fun."

With that Ryan boarded the ship and took off with his companions to the pristine city of…

Station Square

"So why are we coming here anyway?" Amy asked, breaking the silence of the trip.

"Well, I have some connections and I wanted some place that was sized for a human for a change." Ryan said, rubbing the back of his head, "Hope that doesn't put you out too much hon."

"Oh, well that's okay…wait, what did you just call me?" Amy asked.

"Oh look, we're already here." Ryan said, avoiding the question, "Hopefully my friend cleared us with the security."

"Attention, we have you on radar and you're clear to land." A voice said over the speakers, "Welcome to Station Square and enjoy your stay."

"Seems he did." Metal quipped, "Who is this fellow anyway?"

"Well, as wild as it seems, he's a descendant of someone I knew back on Earth." Ryan answered, guiding his ship towards the landing dock.

"How is that possible though?" Amy asked, "Everyone at Station Square is from the group of Overlanders that originally crash-landed here long before a record of Mobius' history was recorded."

"Well, I've done some research and digging through various files and, bear with me on this one guys: I think Mobius and Earth are one and the same." Ryan stated, landing his ship.

"WHAT?" Metal and Amy shouted at the same time.

"Then how were you able to leave Earth and travel through space to Mobius?" Amy questioned.

"Are you high?" Metal quipped, "Still…I'm sure you wouldn't say that without reason. We'll have to talk later, as it seems we're ready to disembark."

"Ah, Ryan, it's good to see you." greeted a tall, lanky African-American with a Japanese accent, "It was a surprise when you said you'd be visiting us."

"Well, Yosh, it's been awhile since I've had time to relax, what with Robotnik and dimensional troubles." Ryan answered, shaking his hand, "I trust you had no trouble with our arrangements."

"Of course not, you guys are heroes of our town after all. The mayor took care of everything, saying it was the least he could do." Yosh explained, "So, if your friends are ready, we can head over to the hotel."

Station Square Hotel

"Welcome to the Station Square Hotel." Greeted the man at the check-in desk, "Can I help you?"

"Of course you can." Yosh answered, "My friends here have a room reserved; should be under the last name Shade."

"Shade?" Amy asked, curious at the name.

"Oh God, I can't believe of all things that got passed down." Ryan sighed with a laugh, waving it off, "I'll explain later Amy."

"Is my presence required? I'm getting rather bored." Metal huffed.

"I don't think it is…you know where the hotel is and we'll just meet up later on for dinner or something." Ryan answered, shooing Metal away.

"I'm out of here then." Metal shouted, dashing out and leaving a whirlwind behind him.

"Just be careful." Ryan sighed, "I still haven't let Silver know we're here."

"We informed him of your coming earlier, so he knows not to go crazy upon seeing Metal." Yosh relayed to Ryan, "Anyway, here's your key."

"Hey, why are you smiling like that?" Ryan asked, before looking at the key, "Hey, what the hell is this supposed to mean?"

"What? You originally said you were bringing someone special and I figured that had to be some type of code." Yosh chuckled, "Not my fault things changed."

"Ryan? What's wrong with the room?" Amy asked, still confused by everything.

"Nothing, let's just head to our room." Ryan replied quickly stowing the key before anyone could see it was designated for the 'Honeymoon' suite.

'The fates sure love to toss me around, don't they?' Ryan thought to himself, stepping into the elevator.

"Wow, this is a big room." Amy shouted, "There's plenty of room for us. I still don't see why you didn't like having this room."

'If only you knew.' Ryan sighed.

"Oh, that's because he doesn't want you to know this room is…" Yosh got out before Ryan slapped the back of his head, "Ow."

"Perfectly fine and we need some time to unwind and unpack." Ryan hurriedly said, pushing Yosh out of the room, "Thanks Yosh, see you for dinner."

"Something wrong Ryan?" Amy questioned at his behavior.

"Oh, Yosh misread something I said and we ended up in this suite." Ryan sighed, figuring telling her the truth wouldn't hurt now, "The Honeymoon suite."

"Oh really now?" Amy said, winking at Ryan, "I knew you felt something for this pink cutie, but not that strongly."

"Hey now, that's not funny." Ryan chuckled, rubbing the back of his head, 'Even if it feels oddly…right.'

"Oh I'm just messing with you." Amy laughed, "I'd at least like one date before you propose."

"What?" Ryan shouted, crashing hard into the floor.

"You're still too tense." Amy laughed, helping him up, "Just relax."

"I guess…just something, odd thoughts I suppose, running through my head." Ryan admitted, sitting on the edge of the bed, "I guess Callie doing a 180 on me had me reeling more than I admitted."

"Yeah?" Amy murmured, staring into Ryan's eyes.

'This is getting awkward.' Ryan thought, "Say, how about we go shopping? Yosh gave me this card from the mayor saying we could use it for whatever we wanted."

"Shopping! Why didn't you say so sooner?" Amy shouted, dashing out of the room as quick as she could, "Well, let's go!"

Ryan merely sighed, shook his head, and followed her out the door.

Station Square: Eclipse Mall

"Was buying all that really necessary?" Ryan asked, seeing Amy skipping happily after spending a prince's sum in clothing and other goodies.

"Hey, a girl can never have enough options." Amy replied, grinning at Ryan, "Well, we can do something you want if you wish."

"I'd hope so; it was supposed to be a vacation where I can relax too." Ryan sighed, before spying something he hadn't seen in some time, "Well I'll be; an arcade."

"An arcade?" Amy asked, "I think Sonic told me about those once. They had all these games or something."

"Yeah, they were pretty popular on Earth during my time." Ryan said, walking in and noticing both he and Amy were getting a few stares, "Hmmm…tough crowd."

"Anything you recognize?" Amy asked, "Given, it's probably not too possible but I thought I'd asked."

"Actually, there are some I recognize; it's kind of cool yet weird those franchises are still around." Ryan answered, "I feel like I've traveled through time or something talking like that."

After getting a number of credits used at this arcade, Ryan walked over to a very noisy, very bright, and a very familiar machine.

"It looks all fancy and high-tech, but I still recognize the heart of one of my old favorites." Ryan chuckled, paying for two plays, "I just hope all that fighting hasn't made me rusty."

"LET'S DDR!" blared forth from the machines' speakers.

"How do you play this one?" Amy asked, "I don't see any type of buttons or sticks like on those other machines."

""This game is played with your feet."" Ryan laughed, "I've always wanted to quote that."

"I guess showing me would be better than telling me." Amy said, sitting next to the machine and waiting, "Why two credits though?"

"You'll see." Ryan said, finally figuring out how to scroll through the menu and choosing an old favorite.

As is his style, Ryan kicked some Doubles (literally) old-school.

'I see, he plays with both sides of the pad.' Amy thought, just now noticing his playing had attracted some attention, 'Uh-oh.'

"Hey, you're pretty good." Said a young kid with brown hair, "How long have you been playing?"

"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you." Ryan chuckled, wiping the sweat from his brow.

"I don't know why you're wasting your time, Tobias." Said his companion, a teenage girl with blue hair.

"What I can't figure out is why you're hanging around with that animal?" Tobias asked, pointing at Amy.

"I'm afraid I missed the part where that's any of your concern." Ryan replied, rather unamused at this unforeseen discussion.

"You got some problem with me lady?" Amy asked, irked as well.

"First, my name is Julia, not lady, and second, yeah." Julia said with some disgust, "You fuzzballs have been mixing in with our city far too much and I'm tired of looking at you all the time. Things were better till you came here and got us involved with that Robo dude."

"First, its Robotnik and two, lay off her. Unless you forget, it was a group of her kind that helped stopped Chaos and Robotnik…" Ryan sighed, dismayed how things were getting out of hand.

"What, she your girlfriend or something?" Julia asked, trying to goad him into causing trouble.

"So what if she was? Even if she wasn't, she's my friend." Ryan calmly replied, "You need to learn not to be so judgmental just because she's different. In my time, you two would've been discriminated merely cause of your skin color; so is this any different?"

"Who are you to give the lectures old man?" Tobias spoke up, "What do you mean time?"

"We aren't getting anywhere and I've had my fill for now." Ryan said, motioning for Amy to come along, "I'll come be nostalgic another time, when heads aren't as fogged with prejudice."

"Why you…you can't walk away from me." Julia said, picking up and throwing a stool at Ryan.

Sighing, Ryan turned around and sliced the chair in half before it hit him, then resumed walking with Amy.

"What the hell is he?" Tobias said, looking at the damaged chair.

"Trouble." Julia answered, "He hasn't seen the last of us."

"I'm sorry you had to deal with that unpleasantness Amy." Ryan apologized, "You would've thought people like that would have wizened up by now."

"Why are you apologizing when it's my fault that happened?" Amy asked, confused, "You didn't even get to enjoy something you were obviously glad to have found."

"I guess I just thought you didn't deserve that after what we did for them." Ryan replied.

"Hey, back there, did you mean what you said to Julia?" Amy asked stopping and looking up at Ryan.

'She must mean that girlfriend bit.' Ryan thought, 'Why did I say that? Do I really feel something for her after all?'

"Well?" Amy pried, "I'd like an answer."

"Well, I…you know that Callie dumped me and then I've been gone and while I've had Sonic and the others to pal around with, you've sort of been the one to keep me from focusing on it too much." Ryan explained, sitting down on a bench, "This is all so awkward."

"It shouldn't have to be." Amy added, sitting down next to him, "I must admit, I've garnered some feelings for you since you became my roomie."

"Well, I'd like to…take a chance as it were." Ryan smiled, taking Amy's hand, "How about we go grab a bite to eat?"

"That sounds like a date." Amy smiled, squeezing Ryan's hand.

'What am I getting myself into?' Ryan thought to himself, chuckling softly.

"You don't mind pizza, right?" Amy asked, dragging Ryan behind her.

"You know, it's almost comforting in a way being able to just go to a restaurant in a city setting like this." Ryan stated, sipping his drink, "It reminds me of my days on Earth…with my buds."

"You're just Mr. Nostalgia today, aren't you Ry?" Amy asked, giggling slightly.

"Can't be helped Amy, it just reminds me of a lot of things." Ryan said whilst chuckling, "Oh hey, here comes the pizza."

"This looks so good, thank you." Amy said to the server, as she snatched a piece, "Owie, it's still hot."

"Well, I'd hope so. Pizza is supposed to be served hot after all." Ryan sighed, taking his own slice and letting it cool, "I'm surprised the Pizza Hut name managed to survive as long as this city has been here. Here's hoping their pizzas still taste as good."

Meanwhile, in another section of the town, Metal is off having his own adventures.

'He's definitely a lot faster than I remember. I'm going to have to keep my wits about me if I don't want to get caught.' Metal thought to himself, zooming through the narrow pathways of Station Square's industrialized district.

Knowing that his pursuer was very close to him, he poured on his speed, nearly plowing through a pile of girders while trying to escape.

"Gotcha." Silver Sonic announced as he stopped Metal in his tracks…and tagged him, "You're it!"

"Darn it all!" Metal laughed, "This is a lot of fun. I never had chances for something like this before I broke free of Eggman's control."

"Affirmative. Eggman truly was a despicable man, but thanks to your friends I can live my own life now." Silver agreed, "Somehow fighting Sonic endlessly just doesn't seem like a way to get along in life."

"We don't have to worry about that anymore though." Metal said with a smile, "Eggy is gone and we can work on a peaceful life."

"They still know how to make a mean Stuffed Crust Pizza. I'm really starting to think what I told you and Metal is true. It's almost too uncanny for all these consequences to not be." Ryan sighed, holding his stomach, "The missing piece of the puzzle is how the hell they got here. I remember Nate mentioning that airplane and this Day of Fury thing. Wait a tick."

"Something click?" Amy asked, "It looks like you just connected two things."

"I think I did…but I'll talk with you and Metal about it later. Speaking of which, I should probably send him what room we're staying in." Ryan said, flipping on his communicator, "Hey Metal, you copy?"

"Yeah, I copy. What's up?" Metal answered, "Something wrong?"

"No, nothing wrong per se. Just thought I'd let you know our room number and what time you'll meet us at the hotel before dinner." Ryan stated, "I've got something I've been working on for you, so I'd like to try it out first."

"Okay, I'll be back at the hotel at five. Right now, I'm going to have some more fun with Silver. Metal out." Metal replied before closing the line.

"Well, he seems to be enjoying himself, so, let's see. It's two now, so we've got some time to kill." Ryan said, checking his watch, "Any idea what you want to do?"

"I know just the place." Amy said with a grin, grabbing Ryan's hand and pulling him along.

Amusement District

"Welcome to Twinkle Park!" shouted the PA system as Ryan and Amy walked into the gateway.

"Twinkle Park, huh? I don't think I ever got to goof around here when we came last time." Ryan quipped, "I take it you did though?"

"Just a little." Amy grinned, "Let's go on this one first."

'The 'Special Twist' huh? Looks like fun.' Ryan thought to himself, getting in line with Amy, 'How bad could it be?'

One Trip Later…Ryan woozily stepped off the coaster and held onto the railing for balance.

"Oh dear Lord…my poor stomach." Ryan murmured, holding his stomach tight.

"I don't get it. You can do all that crazy fighting of yours, but one little roller coaster does this to you?" Amy questioned, "That's just crazy."

"How about we do something a little less up and down and all around?" Ryan asked, shaking his head to clear it.

"Well, there are the bumper cart tracks." Amy stated, "You think you can handle those Mr. Hero?"

"I think those are quite acceptable." Ryan grinned, walking with Amy now that his stomach wasn't doing loops.

Back with Metal, him and Silver had taken a break and were resting easy on a rooftop.

"This place seems so different from anywhere else I've gone." Metal said, sipping a can of oil, "It must be nice staying here."

"It's a nice place and I feel fulfilled about protecting it, but sometimes I wish I could see what else is out there. Have an adventure or two, you know?" Silver quipped, also enjoying some 5W-30.

"It's not as glamorous as it looks." Metal stated, "It's quite dangerous, even more so for my flesh and blood comrades who can't just have a new body built and be popped into it if they screw up."

"I suppose, but I'd like to adventure at least once." Silver sighed, watching the sunset on the horizon.

Metal enjoyed the view as well until he noted the time and stood up.

"Sorry to bolt on you Silver, but I'm supposed to meet Ryan back at the hotel soon." Metal informed, "We'll do some more stuff tomorrow. You want adventure? Let's boogie to the Mystic Ruins and go check things out there then."

"You sure things will be safe if I jet off for the day?" Silver asked, getting up as well.

"Yeah, Ryan will be in town, so it's not like anything bad would happen." Metal replied.

With that, both of them jetted off to their own destinations unaware that something (or someone) was watching them.

Station Square Hotel

"I can't believe I talked you into riding another rollercoaster." Amy chuckled, poking Ryan in the side.

"Well, we didn't go upside down on that one, so I felt better about it." Ryan laughed, rubbing the back of his head.

"What were you talking about earlier? You had something for Metal if I recall." Amy asked, getting into the elevator.

"Well, I've been working on something to help him feel more "at home" I suppose." Ryan explained, opening the door to their room and seeing Metal waiting for them, "Well, howdy stranger. You seem to be in a good mood."

"Indeed. Today was most fun; so do explain about this thing to make me feel more "at home"." Metal insisted.

"Well, I built a new chip for you to use." Ryan said, shuffling through some items and pulling it out, "It should allow you to appear like a normal hedgehog or well, anything you wanted I suppose."

"In other words, you've created a hologram chip for me." Metal deciphered, implanting the chip into his core CPU, "So, do I just think and it happens?"

"Pretty much, you think of what you should look like and that chip will create a new outward appearance for you." Ryan explained, "Still, it was only made for something roughly your size, so be a tad cautious when thinking of something different."

Concentrating, Metal formed an image of himself as a normal hedgehog and was surprised to see his image now looking at him from the mirror.

"Very nice." Metal complimented, "Hmmm…could use some stylish threads though."

Tweaking his appearance somewhat, Metal soon had a look he was quite comfortable with.

"Wow, if I didn't know it was you Metal, I couldn't tell the difference between you and a real hedgehog." Amy gasped in surprise.

"Well, seeing as you're ready, I think the two of us should get ready." Ryan motioned, "Yosh should be stopping by soon to pick us up for dinner."

For the time being now, let's shift away from our heroes and take a gander at something more…insidious.

Mystic Ruins: Wrecked Remains of the Egg Carrier

Floating serenely on the ocean water, one would not suspect that this massive marvel of flight would betray its own appearance by what is occurring within.

Deep within the Egg Carrier something stirs and has begun a plot for vengeance.

It knows not why this vengeance is to be carried out, but that is the only thought that goes through its mind as it plots, conspiring how to take out the one person it has been told to destroy.

Suddenly, it moves quickly, hands flying across the keyboard as it detects the same signal from before.

Without a doubt, this is the one that it knows as the source of its revenge, but an out and out attack would do naught but lead to it's demise.

This thought is why it has been plotting, but further observation of its target through a network of spy cameras reveals something that can be used against him.

For if there is one thing it is sure of, it's that everyone has a weakness no matter how strong or determined they are; unfortunately for Ryan, this one has discovered his weakness and now knows the way to get at him.

Thus it returns to its contemplation, formulating a most diabolical scheme; one that will not only rid it of Ryan, but also those he holds close.

As they say, revenge is a dish best served cold after all and this being could not have a colder heart.

However, it will leave Ryan to his devices…for now.

Station Square: Nightlife District

"This is one kicking place you picked Yosh." Ryan said with a grin, "Good food and good atmosphere."

"Well, I figured you'd want to go somewhere a little more relaxed after all you've been through." Yosh explained, "I'm more surprised at how your companion Metal changed, it sure fooled me."

"Heh, well, I try my best to help my friends out." Ryan said, waving it off, "If anyone knows about Metal best, next to himself anyway, it'd be me; so if I can help him out, why not?"

"You definitely live up to what my ancestor Yoshi wrote about in his biography." Yosh mentioned, "You two were good friends weren't you?"

"Yep, we knew each other for a long time. Always found time to hang out and then the occasional trip to wherever they had some good Bemani to play." Ryan sighed at the memory, "Seems like a long time ago."

"Hey Ryan, you never did explain that 'Shade' thing from earlier." Amy pried, "I'd like to know what the deal behind that is."

"Well, it's like this, Shade or rather Darkness Shade was the persona I used for my stories I used to write." Ryan chuckled; a bit embarrassed someone still remembered those, "Yoshi was a part of them as were I and a character I created known as Darkness Shade."

"So your name as well as this character was Darkness Shade?" Metal asked.

"Yeah, Dark was the half-demon brother of my character as I told in the last part of the story I wrote. I never did get to the origin story." Ryan laughed, "That was a lifetime ago it seems, not a lot of time to write when you're fighting a tyrant."

"That's actually something I wouldn't have suspected." Amy quipped, "You don't seem the type to write."

"Well, somehow I made it work and I had some fans, but I did it mainly for myself and my friends." Ryan responded, "I don't know about you, but all this nostalgia and remembrance has me bushed. I think it's time to hit the hay."

"I guess some sleep wouldn't hurt." Amy agreed, "I did run you ragged after all."

Yosh merely chuckled at Amy's choice of words and received a glaring from Ryan.

"I should probably charge up too, this new chip you gave me seems to use a large chunk of energy." Metal mentioned, "Yosh, it's been nice to get to know you and thanks for your hospitality."

"You're welcome, all of you. It's the least I can do for heroes." Yosh said with a smile, paying the bill.

Back at the Hotel…

"We all had a busy day, didn't we?" Ryan asked, yawning as he changed for bed.

"Well, I know we did, but it seems like Metal was just goofing around with Silver." Amy joked, getting changed as well.

"So what if I was?" Metal quipped, sitting down and preparing to go into Stand-by.

"Oh leave him be Am." Ryan intervened, "He found a way to relax and not be bored, and so that's fine. One thing I didn't count on though is something bugging me."

"What might that be?" Amy asked, looking at Ryan.

"Well, there's only one bed being the Honeymoon suite and all." Ryan reminded Amy, "No thanks to Yosh and his meddling."

"What's wrong with that?" Amy asked, "You know I don't bite."

"I guess so…I still feel kind of awkward though." Ryan chuckled into a sigh, "I did have fun today and maybe I do feel something for you."

"Nobody can resist the cutie pie Amy. It is inevitable." Amy joked, teasing Ryan.

"Why do I feel like I'm in one of my stories all of a sudden?" Ryan asked, sighing aloud.

Seeing that nothing else would sway her decision, Ryan just hopped in to bed and got comfy, followed by Amy hopping in and getting comfy…with Ryan.

"Hey, don't surprise me like that." Ryan warned, caught off-guard by Amy, "I blush easily you know."

"So I can tell." Amy grinned, seeing Ryan's face turn three shades redder.

"You organics are so confusing." Metal said before shutting down.

While Metal was recharging and Amy was dreaming about who knows what, Ryan's dream seemed to be less typical than usual.

"Where the hell am I?" Ryan thought aloud, looking at a barren desolate plain.

"Don't you recognize it?" came a mysterious voice, "You do call this place home after all."

"You mean this is Knothole? That's ridiculous; nothing could have done this and the only one that could have is long gone." Ryan replied, "Who are you anyway? Did you do this?"

"Come now, you should know me better than anyone Ryan." The mysterious voice answered, sounding a touch hurt, "However, it was not I that did this. You shouldn't worry though…soon enough I'll make myself known."

"What the hell does that mean? I don't even know you." Ryan spat back, becoming quite irked with this disembodied voice.

"Come now, we've met once before…albeit briefly. Though I don't blame you for forgetting." The voice answered, "We'll be meeting soon…so beware and be careful."

"Beware what? What are you? What are you up to?"

The Next Morning…

"Ugh." Ryan sighed, waking up and blinking his eyes, "What a weird dream. Who was that guy?"

Seeing that Amy was missing, he assumed she was already up and got ready himself, stretching and getting ready for the day.

"Hmm, Metal's disappeared as well. I wonder when he left." Ryan quipped to himself, yawning slightly.

"Talking to yourself again, Ry?" Amy asked, walking in the front door, "I thought you were going to sleep in all day. You up for some breakfast?"

Mystic Ruins: Egg Carrier Raft Launch

"He's late. I wonder if anything happened." Silver asked himself, wondering what was taking Metal so long.

"I'm right here." Metal shouted as he dashed over to him, though he could tell Silver was confused.

"Oh right sorry, this was Ryan's surprise." Metal explained, "He made an upgrade for me so I could camouflage my appearance."

"Nice. So, you ready to adventure partner?" Silver asked, grinning.

"You know it, so let's shove off." Metal agreed, hopping onto the raft and setting off.

Arriving at the Egg Carrier, Metal and Silver jetted around observing the fact that everything was still running even though it'd had been quite some time since it crashed here.

"This seems a bit weird." Metal stated, "The power should've run out on this long ago and yet, it still runs as though it were operational."

"I can't say I've ever been here, so I'm none too sure if this has always been like this or has just started up again." Silver added, "Maybe the control tower would yield some answers."

Activating their jump jets, the two mechas flew up to the control tower and had to force the door open to get in.

"Odd, if the ship has power, why would the door not open?" Metal questioned, becoming more intrigued as to what was going on.

"Well, maybe if I interface with the main computer I could learn something." Silver said, pulling out a cable from his arm and plugging himself in.

Silver's eyes faded slightly as he began to examine the data files and suddenly maxed out their brightness as if he had found something uncanny.

"Metal! We've got to get back to the others and warn them!" Silver shouted, yanking out his cord and grabbing Metal.

"Why? What's wrong? Warn them about what?" Metal asked, running behind Silver.

"Warn them of me of course." Said a figure stepping in front of the door, blocking their exit.

"You! That's not possible!" Metal shouted, pointing at the figure, "I was there after Sonic took you out!"

"Reports of my demise…well, you know the line." The figure grinned, approaching the two mechas.

"We can't fight him right now." Silver said, stepping back, "He isn't how he seems. Ack!"

"Silver, what's wrong?" Metal asked, reaching out to grab Silver, before being knocked back by him.

"Something from the computer…virus." Silver struggled to get out, "Run! Going to…self-destruct!"

"I can't just leave you!" Metal shouted, before Silver decided for him by grabbing him and throwing him out the window, "Silver!"

"Playing the hero then, are we my creation?" The figure asked, "How noble, to self-detonate rather than let my virus control you. Perhaps I made you…too well."

"Heh…at least you won't hurt my friends!" Silver shouted, glowing bright red before exploding in a blaze of color and light.

"Silver…" Metal sighed, seeing the Egg Carrier's control room explode as his raft drifted away from it, "I've got to tell Ryan."

Station Square: NightFire Arcade

"This game is pretty fun." Amy said with a smile, trying awkwardly to dance.

"It takes a little getting used to, but it's enjoyable." Ryan chuckled, wiping the sweat from his brow, "At least today we're not having to deal with a bunch of idiots."

"Oh man, I'm wiped." Amy sighed, finishing her round, "Why don't you play something else for now?"

"Huh? Oh, okay…they did have another old game I used to play; with my cybernetic arm though I think I might be cheating a bit." Ryan laughed, walking over to another loud machine, this one containing seven keys and a disc-shaped device.

"Hey, this says Bemani too; is it like the other one?" Amy asked, sitting down next to the machine.

"Yep, same people, though I wonder if I'll recognize any of the songs." Ryan said looking at the name designated to it, "IIDX 50 R.E.T.R.O.? What the hell does RETRO stand for?"

Reading the small subtext, Ryan could only sigh and shake his head at what RETRO spelled out: Real Existentialism Towards Recreating Opulence.

"What the hell is wrong with Konami?" Ryan laughed, the Engrish still making no sense even now, "Different place, same game."

Playing a few rounds, Ryan drew a few onlookers but was too absorbed in the game to really notice.

'Heh, I wonder if he was this good or if it's like he said about his arm.' Amy thought with a chuckle, 'I'm just glad those two aren't…ugh, I spoke too soon.'

"Back again freak show?" Julia asked, walking through the parting crowd.

"Ah, still the charmer as always I see." Ryan replied, turning his attention to her, "I'd ask what business you have here today, but frankly, I could care less."

"Why you arrogant...heh, you got lucky last time." Julia smirked, "This time won't be as easy with my crew backing me up."

As if on cue, four people (including Tobias) seem to just appear from the crowd and stood behind her.

"Hmmm…nope, still not fair odds if you really wanted a throw down." Ryan chuckled, scratching the back of his neck, "You'd need at least 10 times how many of you there are to stand some slight chance."

"I really don't see why you're making this so personal." Amy quipped, angered that another day of fun was going to have a sour note.

"It's because sis is just too stubborn." Tobias answered, before being smacked upside the head, "Ow."

"Quiet! Now, I don't like some punk with a hero complex to just come into my turf and think he's all that. This is about honor now…to think I originally wanted to see if you wished to join my crew after seeing you play." Julia said, shaking her head, "I should've known you weren't going to be any good...especially hanging around that damned furry."

"You bitch!" Amy shouted, "How dare you!"

"Amy, stop. She wants you to react just to give her justification." Ryan commanded, placing his hand on her shoulder, "Look, what is your problem? We just want to have fun and you're acting like we did something horrible."

"I can't stand humans like you…they just welcome those animals in without worrying what might happen." Julia growled in anger, "Now the city is full of them and who knows what they might do…for all we know, now that that Robo dude is gone, they may try to take over here. They already rival our numbers as it is."

"How paranoid can you get?" Ryan sighed, "They just spent forever fighting someone tyrannical and you expect them to instantly become that after stopping him? I pity you…you can't see anything past your own hate. Come on Ames, I think we're done here."

With that, Ryan took Amy's hand and started to walk out of the arcade.

"Not this time. You aren't leaving this time." Julia said, pulling out a gun and firing it into the air, making everyone scatter for cover.

"Is this really necessary?" Ryan asked, turning around and facing her, "I don't think it's worth throwing your life away for…all over some petty prejudice."

"No one can see them for what they really are." Julia remarked, pointing the gun at Amy, "A virus that's going to tarnish human kind."

"Stop this insanity!" Ryan shouted, "Tobias, you're her sister! Can't you get through to her at all?"

"I've tried…but sometimes I think she's right." Tobias admitted.

"Now, suffer." Julia coldly stated, firing on Amy.

"No you don't!" Ryan shouted, pulling out his light saber and blocking the bullet, "Stop it now before someone gets hurt."

"Damn you! You aren't human either are you?" Julia shouted, firing at Ryan multiple times just for him to stop the bullets, "You're a freak just like them."

"I can't hold back anymore." Ryan sighed, "You've forced my hand."

Charging at Julia while she stumbled to reload, he knocked the gun away from her and pinned her to the ground.

"Dammit!" Julia shouted, looking at her crew, "Well, help me you idiots!"

"Sorry sis, but you've gone too far this time." Tobias mumbled.

"Kid, you've got to learn to pick a side and stick with it." Ryan sighed, "You okay Am?"

"I'll be fine; I'll go ahead and call the police." Amy replied, pulling out her cell-phone.

"No need to Miss, the owner called when this all started." A policeman explained as he entered the arcade, "It appears the suspect is detained, I'm cuffing her."

"She's all yours guys." Ryan said, getting off of Julia and dusting himself off, "Try not to go too hard on her; it almost seems like she isn't all there to be honest."

"We've had altercations with this one before, so we know the score." The officer said, cuffing her and helping her stand up, "I'm just glad you were here to defuse the situation; I suppose the mayor has good reason to call you a hero."

"I just do what I know is right." Ryan said with a wave as the officer left, "So, what do we do now?"

As if on cue, a huge explosion ripped through the air, its source apparently nearby.

'That didn't sound good.' Ryan thought, dashing to the source.

Central Park

"What do you think it is?" asked one onlooker.

"I don't know; it looks like a metal hedgehog." Another one answered.

"Is it that, what's his name, Silver fellow?" the first one asked.

"I don't think so." Ryan answered, appearing as if from nowhere, "That's Metal."

Helping his friend up from the crater he had created, Ryan checked to make sure he was okay.

"Ryan! We've got trouble, big trouble!" Metal shouted, acting highly erratic.

"Metal, calm down bro." Ryan said, trying to calm him, "What trouble? Where's Silver? What's wrong?"

"It's him…he's back. I don't know how, but he is." Metal got out after calming down, "Eggman is back…and Silver blew himself up so I could get away."

"Eggman..." Amy said, clutching to Ryan tightly, "Ryan…what do we do?"

"We do what we're supposed to." Ryan calmly replied, "We need to talk with Yosh and the Mayor."

Mayor's Office

"Okay Ryan, he'll see you now." Yosh said, leading Ryan and his friends to the Mayor's office.

"Ah, Ryan, it's good to see you." Greeted Mayor Bulliani, "What do I owe this visit to?"

"I wish it could be over better terms." Ryan glumly stated, "Silver has been destroyed…and apparently, it was by Eggman."

"No…that can't be. King Max informed me of his defeat not that long ago." Bulliani replied, "Are you certain of this?"

"Yes." Metal replied, "I saw him with my own eyes before Silver threw me clear of the area and blew up in an attempt to finish him off."

"This situation isn't good sir." Yosh stated, "We aren't properly prepared for a full-scale assault by Eggman's forces if he truly is back."

"I can give anything that might be helpful if you need it." Metal added, "I believe he may be repairing his old craft the Egg Carrier. Silver and I went adventuring to the Mystic Ruins and found it still operational."

"That can't be good. That machine caused enough trouble last time when he broke our artificial sky." Bulliani sighed, "It took forever to fix and regulate that. I'm not sure the citizenry can take another attack like that."

"Sir!" shouted a secret service agent, running in with a slip of paper, "This just came addressed for your guests."

"Here, let me see that." Ryan said, taking the letter and opening it, "It's from him."

""Dear _heroes_, it would seem you've gotten too lax in the time that I've been away. Thus, I've been working on the ultimate weapon in order to finish you all off and take over the world! If you really think you can stop me, you're more than welcome to try…hahahahaha!"" Ryan read, "That fat sack of crap!"

"Ryan, what are we gonna do?" Amy asked.

"I wouldn't worry about that." Metal said with a grin.

"Metal's right…we're going to stop him." Ryan stated, crumpling up the letter and tossing it aside, "Don't worry Mayor Bulliani, we'll handle this one."

"Heh, he really does live up to your standards ancestor." Yosh mused, watching the team of three walk out of the office.

Mystic Ruins: Raft Launching

"So do you really think he's still there?" Metal asked, seeing Ryan check his equipment.

"If he'd have lifted off, it would've been obvious." Ryan answered, "So I'm guessing he still hasn't finished yet."

"Are you sure we can handle this on our own?" Amy questioned, looking over her hammer, "Not that I'm questioning your abilities or anything…it's just, shouldn't we have called for backup?"

"To be honest, I tried to get in contact with Knothole." Metal admitted, "Strangely, I couldn't get through to anyone."

Ryan freezed up at hearing Metal's words and thought back to his dream; his face turning pale.

"Ryan? We're here." Amy announced, snapping him from his trance.

"Okay, where should we look first?" Ryan asked, keeping his saber at the ready.

At those words, the Egg Carrier began to rumble as its main engines came to life.

"Oh crap, we sure picked a bad time." Metal grumbled, trying to keep balance, "He must be in the control tower. Come on!"

"Wait! It might be a trap!" Ryan shouted all for not, as Metal had already taken off, "Well, come on Am, we can't let him get hurt."

"Right!" Amy shouted, charging after Ryan.

"There's no one here." Metal sighed, "Looks like you were right. It was a decoy."

"Mwahahahaha! You fools are so predictable." Eggman's voice shouted over the speakers, "I knew you'd come here and so I left you a little present."

With that, the doors sealed shut and the controls shifted on their own.

"Dammit!" Ryan sighed, "I knew this was going to happen."

"I'm disappointed. You've already let yourselves die." Eggman's voice sighed, "Still, if you can survive this then I'm sure you'll know where to find me…call it a hunch."

"You coward!" Amy shouted, "What are we going to do Ryan?"

"Let's see if my upgrade is any good." Ryan said, concentrating and turning his cybernetic arm into a buster, "Stand clear!"

Seeing his friends were out of the way, Ryan pooled the energy of his emerald's power source and launched a huge blast at the door.

When the smoke cleared, the door was gone and Ryan heaved a sigh of relief.

"I'm so glad that worked." Ryan laughed, "I didn't really have a plan after that."

"Well, we can leave, but where is this thing going?" Amy asked, "He obviously was going to have it crash somewhere."

"Metal, can you find out the coordinates?" Ryan asked.

"I can try." Metal said, hooking up the machine, "Oh dear…it's set on a crash course with Station Square."

"It just keeps getting worse." Ryan sighed, "Can you alter the course? Set it to explode? Anything?"

"Ry, calm down!" Amy shouted, slapping him, "Sorry."

"No, I needed that. You're right." Ryan nodded, "So Metal?"

"Actually, I can. It's almost as if he expected us to change the course." Metal explained, rewriting the coordinates, "There, I've set it to crash into Red Mountain and burn up in the magma. This'll rid us of worrying about the Egg Carrier permanently."

"Then let's get the hell out of here!" Ryan shouted, grabbing the two of them and dashing out of the control room, "Geronimo!"

"You idiot! We're in the sky and you and Amy can't fly!" Metal shouted, falling with them.

"Who said I couldn't fly?" Ryan asked, concentrating and using his emerald to go super, "Did you forget I could do this?"

"I guess I did." Metal replied sheepishly, "I'm surprised you've got enough energy to do that after that blast of yours."

"Ry? Are you okay?" Amy asked, noticing he was shaking.

"Yeah, I'll be good once we land." Ryan replied, 'I can't let her know I'm still hurting from that experiment, not until I figure out what's going on.'

After landing in the nearby ruins, Ryan and his friends watched as the Egg Carrier crashed and exploded in a blaze of ruin and destruction.

"Let's head back to the hotel for now." Ryan suggested, before falling over, "…"

"Ryan? Ryan? Ryan?" Amy shouted, trying to lift him up.

Station Square Hotel

"Ugh…where…what?" Ryan questioned as he came to, "The Egg Carrier! Wait…I'm back in the hotel."

Trying to move his right arm, Ryan found Amy latched quite tightly to it and so looked around for Metal.

"Ry?" Amy asked, sensing movement, "Ryan!"

"Oh, Amy…calm down." Ryan stated with a blush, "I'm okay. What happened?"

"You passed out and we brought you back here." Amy explained, "Metal went to inform Yosh and the Mayor of the situation while you recuperated."

"I'm sorry to worry you." Ryan apologized, "I guess my new enhancements wear me out more than I calculated."

"You need to be careful…if I lost you I…" Amy spoke, just holding his arm tight, "I don't think I could lose you."

"Amy…" Ryan said softly, brushing his fingers through her quills, "We make such an odd pair, don't we?"

"I do believe you attempted a joke." Amy laughed, "You must be feeling better."

"Hmm, it sounds like Ryan's up again." Metal murmured to himself.

Slowly opening the door, Metal peeked in and couldn't help but laugh to himself; he just had to joke around.

"And here, we see two prime examples of organics attempting mating rituals, as indicated by their elevated blood and pheromone levels." Metal spoke in an Australian accent as he opened the door, "Crikey!"

"You metal moron!" Ryan shouted, "I'm going to kill you and place your brain in a toaster!"

Ryan went to get up and then promptly fell down in pain, clutching his sides.

"Ryan, you need to calm down." Metal chided, helping him up, "I was just joking around and you're still hurt. You need to pace yourself."

"I know I just…I don't want to fail anyone else." Ryan sighed, laying back down and closing his eyes, "Don't want to lose anyone else."

Getting an odd look from Amy, Metal got the cue and left to go do some reconnaissance.

"I bet I can help you feel better Ryan." Amy suggested, "Roll over."

"Okay, but I don't see what this is going to do." Ryan grunted, rolling over on to his stomach, "Hey, get off of me."

"Hush, I'm just gonna rub your back. You're way too tense Ry." Amy chuckled, "Never thought I'd actually get to use those relaxation methods I learned."

Some time later…

"Thanks Ames. I definitely feel better now." Ryan stated, sitting up in bed and half-watching a movie with her, "Still, we can't relax too much with Eggman still out there."

"We'll deal with him when he shows up." Amy replied, "Just focus on relaxing right now, okay?"

"Oh, very well." Ryan chuckled, messing with Amy's quills and putting his arm around her, "This was supposed to be a vacation after all."

"My, you seem more at ease with us, don't you?" Amy joked, lightly jabbing Ryan's stomach.

"Well, I figured what the hell?" Ryan laughed, "If you're happy, who cares, right?"

"Ugh, you guys make me sick." Metal wretched entering the room, "All your lovey-dovey stuff with you organics…I'll never understand it."

"Heh, you'll fall in love one day Metal, just remember that. And then, on that day, I shall return the torment!" Ryan shouted diabolically.

"Oh dear, he's back to his normal self now." Amy chuckled.

With that, our heroes soon retired and slept.

The city at night was dotted with lights, people enjoying their peaceful existence.

Metal was peacefully enjoying sleep mode, dreaming of electric sheep or whatever robots dream off, whilst Ryan was passed out on the bed, Amy snuggled up close to him.

Soon the town was quiet; the only noise was the occasional car or the roar of thunder from an approaching storm.

"Hmm, this won't do." Eggman stated to himself, standing on a nearby rooftop, "I think it's time I livened things up."

Hopping into his modified Eggmobile, he set his sights on a certain hotel and crashed right in.

"Huh?" Ryan jumped at the noise, "Amy? Metal? Did you guys knock something over?"

"Eh?" Metal asked, coming out of sleep mode, "It's 4 in the morning, who's the wise guy?"

"Ryan? Lay back down…I'm getting cold." Amy sighed, clutching on to him.

"I know I heard something." Ryan mumbled, just before the door blew in, "What the hell?"

"You fools; did you really think you would be safe just by destroying one simple aircraft?" Eggman taunted, stepping into the room.

"Oh, it's just the sack of lard." Ryan sighed, "We're trying to sleep you know."

"Oh, are you? I didn't know, I'll just come back later…hey, wait!" Eggman shouted, "I'm the bad guy here, I don't care about that!"

"Look, I'm not in the mood for this right now." Ryan sighed, "Can't I kick your butt later?"

"Come now Ryan; you surely must notice that someone like you shouldn't be fighting me. We are the same after all." Eggman stated in a smooth tone.

"Last I checked, I'm a human and you're an Overlander." Ryan replied, standing up and pulling on his shirt.

"Potato, potatoe boy." Eggman answered back, "We look the same; why should we fight?"

"Well, other than you being evil, there's still what I said." Ryan huffed, pulling out his light saber, "And well, I've got five fingers and you don't, so chew on that fatty!"

"Somebody get a rubber band, cause 'Oh, snap!'" Metal shouted with a laugh.

"Oh, oh, you did not just go there!" Eggman shouted, "I was willing to taunt you, beat you back, and leave you with your miserable little friends as some chance to beat me; but no, you had to insult the appendage deficit…I'm going to kick your ass and take both of your friends!"

"I'd like to see you try." Ryan stated, striking a pose, 'Oh shit, I'm still worn out. This isn't good.'

"Having trouble are you?" Eggman questioned, seeing Ryan wobble a bit, "Your mouth always was too big."

Pulling out his own sword, Eggman dashed at Ryan and knocked him back.

'How the hell is he so quick?' Ryan thought, barely rolling out of the way of his attack, "Metal! Get Amy and run!"

"Gotcha!" Metal shouted, grabbing Amy and jetting through the hole in the room…and promptly getting sucker-punched by some Egg-Robos.

"No!" Ryan shouted, slamming into Eggman and knocking him into his machine, "Leave my friends out of this!"

"Heh…you and your friends; such weaknesses shouldn't be kept around for those of more diabolical means to exploit." Eggman ranted, jumping into his Eggmobile, "I'm going to take your friends. I think you may know where I'll be…it'll be an appropriate homecoming."

"You think I'm going to let you get away?" Ryan demanded, going Super, "You won't get away this time!"

"Heh, can you handle the strain of that again?" Eggman chided, "Sorry I can't stay to check though; I have people to terrorize and the like."

With that, a legion of Swat-bots swarmed Ryan and delayed him from chasing Eggman.

"You fucking coward!" Ryan shouted, slicing away at the bots, "Get back here!"

Ryan tried to get through the robots, but they continued to come as he started feeling the fatigue set in.

'Crap, I can't keep my eyes open. I feel like…I'm…dying.' Ryan groggily thought, before his power ran out and he fell unconscious.

"Should we eliminate him?" Stated one bot.

"Master stated we should merely delay him." Stated a second.

With that, Ryan lay unconscious on the ground as Eggman got away with his friends.

'Amy…' was the only thought sifting through Ryan's mind.

?: Unknown Place

"Ugh…where am I?" Ryan asked, opening his eyes and clutching his head, "I remember falling unconscious. Amy!"

"She's safe…though I'm not sure for how long given he has her." Stated the mysterious voice from before.

"It's you…who are you?" Ryan questioned, looking for the source.

"I am you…at least…that's what you believed." Stated the voice.

"Are you from that experiment I was attempting?" Ryan murmured to himself.

"You could say that…I'm what you could've been had things gone differently." The voice answered, "Oddly, it seems my consciousness is fading the longer I try to preserve it. It seems your body is maintaining dominance."

"Dominance?" Ryan asked, "What do you mean?"

"Your experiment changed us...in a way that is most curious." The voice explained, "Soon we cannot talk, at least, not like this. When the time comes, I will help; however, you need to wake up now. Our friends are in danger."

"Our friends?" Ryan said in confusion, before noting a bright light, giving off a silhouette of a man much like himself, but with some key differences, "Who are you?"

Station Square Hospital: 3 Days Later

"What was all that? I'm still alive?" Ryan asked, clutching his head and looking around, "I'm in the hospital."

"Ah, you're awake!" Yosh shouted, "I didn't think you were ever going to come too."

"Eggman attacked…he took Metal…and Amy." Ryan sighed, "I've got to go after him."

"Whoa! Calm down there buddy." Yosh warned, keeping Ryan from getting up, "You've been beat up pretty badly. Also, it seems something about your vitals is weird."

"My vitals? What's off?" Ryan questioned, slightly confused.

"Apparently, they're off the charts, yet you appear normal and in perfect shape; save for the injuries from Eggman." Yosh answered, "Anyway, Eggman hasn't been heard from since then, so we think he may have left Station Square."

"I can't just sit here though. Sonic and Tails don't know he's back, and we can't get in contact with Knothole." Ryan sighed, "I'm the only one that can help…the only one that can keep that madman from doing something else that threatens peace. Sonic just recently beat him and I want people to enjoy a longer peace!"

"It's uncanny how much is right about you from his book." Yosh sighed, "Here, I fixed this up while you were asleep."

Handing Ryan a tweaked version of his light saber, he allowed his friend to get up and ready himself.

"I really wish Yoshi was still around. I could really use his help right about now." Ryan sighed, "Thanks for fixing this up Yosh; I think I know where Eggman fled to so I'm going to stop him. Keep trying to get Knothole somehow and let me know if anything comes up."

Yosh pulled a strange device from his pocket and almost seemed to grin looking at the flashing signal it was giving him.

"Hmm…my ancestor…I wonder…" Yosh murmured to himself, walking off with a thought in mind.

Mobian Skies

'What is wrong with me? I've never been that drained before…and what's with that mysterious man?' Ryan thought to himself as he flew back to Knothole, 'I should've told Yosh I was going there, but…I couldn't let him know. I don't want him following me.'

Coming to the forest just outside Knothole, Ryan could see that he was right.

"I knew it…he leveled Knothole. I wonder what he did with everyone here." Ryan said out loud, landing the plane and getting out, "I sure wish I had some backup."

Ryan walked towards the entrance and began to get the feeling he was being followed.

"Is that him?" one of his pursuers murmured to the other.

"No, it's someone else." The other pursuer replied.

Stopping at the entrance, Ryan turned around and looked towards where he felt the presence watching him.

"You can come out, I know you're there." Ryan stated, "I'm not sure who you are, but sneaking around won't solve anything right now."

"Wait, I know that voice! Ryan!" said a blue hedgehog, looking worse for wear.

"Sonic! Oh thank God!" Ryan shouted, greeting his friend, "Is that Tails with you then?"

"Yeah, it's me. We didn't know who you were since you look a little different." Tails replied, "What happened here?"

"I'm not sure, but…I think it was Eggman. I know you killed him, but he showed up in Station Square while Amy, Metal, and I were trying to get some relax time in." Ryan explained, "He took Amy and Metal and pushed me till I was unconscious."

"We just got back a few days ago and found this place in ruins." Sonic sighed, "I was hoping for a big welcome back party too."

"Okay, at least I've got some backup now." Ryan nodded, "Let's go."

Knothole Ruins

"This is worse than last time." Tails murmured, "I don't think anyone could've survived this."

"We're tough though, so someone had to survive." Ryan replied, "Don't you guys have some safety protocol or something for this?"

"Well, we do have a safe house of sorts we used to use, but I'm not sure if anyone would think to go there." Sonic answered, "It's this way."

Heading towards an unassuming corner of Knothole, Sonic pulled aside a part of the wall and placed his palm on the panel that was revealed.

A large section of the cliff-side slid out with a hiss and vanished inside, revealing a large, dimly lit room.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" Sonic asked, walking in with Ryan and Tails.

Not hearing anything, the three of them walked in and noticed that the lights were indeed on, but nobody seemed to be home.

"That's odd; it almost appears as if someone just left here in a hurry." Tails explained, looking over the control panel, "It shows the last entry from about a day ago."

"Well, let's see it then. It might explain where everyone is." Sonic stated.

Pulling up the entry, Tails read aloud what was written.

"We don't know how such a huge amount of ships appeared in such a short time, but I'm surprised the casualties were at the minimum they were. We managed to get everyone evacuated and most of us have already been sent with Knuckles to Echidnaopolis for now. I and the core Freedom Fighters stayed behind here to assess the damage but even now it's too dangerous. With Sonic, Tails, and then Ryan and the others gone, we don't have much backup to try and face this head on. For now, we must leave our home but we will be back…we won't lose our home a second time."

"Sounds like Sally to me." Sonic said, breaking the silence, "Well, we know that the others are okay for now."

"She spoke of an armada of ships." Ryan murmured, "How in the heck could he have such a huge fleet ready in such a short time?"

"That bugged me too when I read that." Tails mentioned, "Well, we should get out of here and meet up with the others; without knowing where Eggman is we can't really track his armada."

Heading back after checking for any possible supplies, Sonic, Tails, and Ryan hopped into the Tornado and headed off towards Angel Island's current position.

Somewhere over the South Mobian Sea…

"Jeez, are we ever going to get there?" Ryan sighed, tapping his foot in annoyance.

"We're close." Tails answered, "We just weren't in a good place considering it's about halfway around the globe at this time of year."

"You're almost as impatient as me…" Sonic chuckled, before looking back with wide-eyes, "We've got company."

Turning around, Ryan saw what had Sonic a bit freaked out.

"Oh snap." Ryan exclaimed, "Its Eggman's armada!"

"I'm taking evasive maneuvers; hold on!" Tails shouted, doing a barrel-roll and diving below the clouds.

"I don't think he saw us…this is our chance." Ryan murmured, "Tails, get us behind that really big red one; I've a hunch that's where we'll find Eggman…as well as Amy and Metal."

"Gotcha! Hold tight guys." Tails announced, looping around and flying above the ships, "Well, I guess I'll just have to crash-land again…not."  
Activating the landing gear, Tails, made a solid, if not bumpy landing on the bow of the ship…which got the attention of a number of unhappy looking robots.

"Well, you guys ready to rumble?" Ryan chuckled, pulling out his saber.

"Let's do this!" Sonic shouted, spinning through a number of bots.

After battling their way across the deck, the three heroes found themselves outside the bridge of the command ship with no way in.

"Any ideas guys?" Ryan asked, "I don't exactly see any kind of doorknob."

"There's always my lock pick." Sonic chuckled, spinning into a buzz saw and in-between the doors, forcing them open, "There we go."

"I'll never understand how you can roll into a ball like that." Ryan quipped as he followed Sonic and Tails down the hallway, "It seems like you'd have to dislocate a lot of bones and such."

"That's what you get for trying to inject logic into something like this." Tails laughed, "We just sort of run with it."

"So how is Amy?" Sonic asked, noting that there wasn't any type of resistance.

"I think she's doing okay; pretty well if I may." Ryan chuckled, aware that Sonic had no idea what had transpired while he was gone.

"Oh…that's good then." Sonic replied, before stopping in his tracks, "He's up ahead."

"How can you tell?" Tails asked, "I'm not getting anything on my radar."

"I can just…feel him." Sonic quipped, "Weird."

"Then let's go get him!" Ryan growled, dashing forward.

"What got into him all of a sudden?" Sonic questioned, following him with Tails in tow.

As Ryan came out of the hallway, he was blinded by a bright light…

?

"Uh…who cranked up the sun?" Ryan grumbled, blinking his eyes.

"Sorry Ryan, but we finally broke through the clouds since the Floating Island is up ahead." Tails answered.

"The Floating Island? Don't you mean Angel Island? And what happened to Eggman and his armada?" Ryan asked, slightly startled at the change of scenery.

"Eggman? Oh, you mean Dr. Robotnik." Sonic replied, "After taking down the Death Egg, we found out he crashed it on the Floating Island. Naturally we can't let him repair that thing, so here we are. You don't remember talking about any of this?"

"No…I don't." Ryan stated, "Things don't add up here…what about Sally and the others? Knothole? Amy and Metal?"

"Knot hole?" Tails questioned, "What the heck is that?"

"Amy is who knows where and you know we took down Metal some time ago on Little Planet." Sonic added, "Did you hit your head or something?"

"Maybe…well, for now I'll play along." Ryan quipped, seeing them come closer to the island's shore.

"Heh, time for some fun." Sonic chuckled, jumping off the Tornado and going Super.

"That sounds like a good idea." Ryan laughed, jumping off the plane as well.

"What are you doing? You can't go super like Sonic." Tails shouted.

"The hell you say." Ryan grinned, turning Super and dashing along with Sonic.

"When the hell did you learn to do that?" Sonic gasped in shock, "I bet I'm still faster."

"Let's find out!" Ryan shouted, taking off towards the beach.

As the two of them quickly approached the shore and began dashing towards the outlying forest past the shore, they got sucker-punched by some red punk.

"Ow…what the hell was that for Knuckles?" Ryan groaned, standing back up.

"How the hell do you know my name human?" Knuckles asked in surprise, "And why do you have the Chaos Emeralds?"

"Knuckles, maybe you haven't lost your mind." Ryan sighed, "Do you remember anything that's happened? Chaos? Shadow? The Ark? The other humans? Metal and Amy? Any of that ring a bell?"

"Holy hell, there's more of you?" Knuckles shouted, "Maybe that egg-shaped fellow was right…"

"Oh God, what's going on here!" Ryan groaned, "Am I losing my freaking mind?"

"Of course not; it's obvious that you've been transported to a place that is similar to your reality, but not like it in any means." Tails interjected, "I mean, I parked the Tornado, so what's going on guys?"

"Wait…what?" Ryan asked, "Hmm, I know when this is now. I've apparently been placed at the time when Sonic 3 and Knuckles occurred; the question is why?"

"Um, is he going to be okay?" Knuckles asked, "He's kind of mumbling to himself."

"Oh, he does that all the time." Sonic quipped, "He'll work himself out of it in a moment."

"More importantly, have I been flung back in time or is it a clever simulation being pulled like I read about in the archives? Apparently Eggman has tried this before…" Ryan pondered aloud, "I've got my cybernetic arm and can go Super, so something's fishy. Only one way to find out."

With that, Ryan wordlessly ditched the others and hopped into the Tornado, taking off towards an unknown destination.

"He just jacked our ride; what gives?" Sonic quipped.

"I think he finally found the key…" Tails mysteriously replied.

Approximation of Knothole

"There's nothing here." Ryan whispered, surveying the forest around him, "It's not here at all."

Walking around to take a closer look, all he could find was tree after tree in a never-ending forest.

"I don't understand what's going on." Ryan groaned, shaking his head in frustration, "WHERE AM I?"

"You shouldn't shout." stated a familiar, yet mysterious voice.

"You again?" Ryan sighed, "Where the hell are you?"

"I'm right here." The figure stated, walking from behind the trees, "Look familiar?"

"You? Then that means…how is that possible though?" Ryan queried, "So when the experiment went haywire…are you part of me now?"

"In a way…you could say we've acquired one another." The figure replied with a chuckle.

"That sounded…kind of wrong." Ryan groaned, "Anyway, what's going on here?"

"You're the one with psychic powers, you tell me." The figure quipped.

"Then…it's as I thought." Ryan replied, "EGGMAN!"

Egg Fleet Control Room

"EGGMAN!" Ryan shouted, breaking free of his control, "Ugh, why am I floating in a tube? I'm all wet and icky."

"The hell? You aren't supposed to be able to break out of that system." Eggman shouted, "How did you do that?"

"Like I'd tell you." Ryan replied, powering up and shattering his tube, "Now I think it's time my friends joined the party."

Jumping up, Ryan slashed through the cables attached to his friends tubes and shattered them so they could get out.

"Ugh…did we miss a party?" Sonic asked, falling out of his tube, "Because I'm all sticky and I'd like to know why."

"I remember entering the room and then there was a light." Tails groaned, shaking the water out of his tails, "Odd; I dreamt we were back when we first met Knuckles…except Ryan was there."

"This is inconceivable! You aren't supposed to be this strong mentally!" Eggman shouted in disgust.

"Where is AMY?" Ryan shouted, flaring his aura…which took on an odd glow.

"Huh? What's wrong with Ryan? He looks different." Sonic murmured.

"You…what are you?" Eggman mumbled while backpedaling.

"What am I? I am…a hero." Ryan replied, "This is who I am!"

With that, Ryan dashed at Eggman with his saber drawn and ran him through; the heat of his saber carving Eggman up like a turkey.

"Argh…you…you shouldn't be able to do this." Eggman grumbled, seething in pain.

"Anything is possible…when you're in love!" Ryan shouted, grabbing Eggman by the neck roughly, "Now where the hell are my friends!"

"They're…down the hall." Eggman said, breathing heavily, "Even if you save them though…nothing will save you from what is to come."

"Shut the f*ck up!" Ryan growled, slicing Eggman's head off before sprinting down the hall to get his friends, "Go warm up the Tornado, I'll be right back!"

Sonic and Tails were a little shocked to be sure, especially since Ryan seemed to have iced Eggman.

"Uh…what the hell just happened?" Sonic asked, blinking rapidly, "Wait, did he say "in love"?"

Down the hallway, Amy and Metal were trying to concoct some way to break free but weren't having much luck.

"Dammit! He has us locked in here pretty well." Metal groaned, "No matter what we throw at the gate it won't budge."

"Ryan'll come after us; I know he will." Amy stated, "I bet all that noise we heard outside was him kicking all sorts of butt."

"If it is, he's more insane than I give him credit for." Metal chuckled.

"Gee, thanks for the compliment; would you like your new body to be a two or four slice?" Ryan quipped as he sliced the bars to ribbons.

"RYAN!" Amy shouted, jumping and tackling Ryan, "I knew you'd come for us!"

"Heh, you know it Ames." Ryan grinned, standing up, "Now let's go; Eggman's been iced and Tails is getting the Tornado set up so we need to boogie."

Grabbing his two friends, Ryan dashed out of the bridge and back towards the deck, unknowing that Eggman's remains began to slowly melt down and reform into one.

"Human Anomaly Ryan scans complete. Absorption of power readings, skills, techniques, abilities, and composition commencing; estimated time till full assimilation of data: 42 hours."

Having arrived at the deck, Ryan and the others piled in to the Tornado as best they could and flew off before Eggman's ship exploded; this in turn started a chain reaction that slowly took out the rest of Eggman's fleet.

"What the hell caused all that?" Metal asked, quite confused, "Ships just don't blow up on their own."

"Oh, after Ryan went to get you two, I quickly rewrote the ships programming to blow up after 5 minutes." Tails answered, "Sonic said that'd be more than enough time for Ryan to get you two."

"5 minutes? You underestimated me too much Sonic, I'm hurt." Ryan laughed as the group made their way to their original destination.

'What Ryan said still bugs me…why did he say love?' Sonic pondered as they flew, eyeing Ryan and Amy oddly.

Angel Island: Outskirts of Echidnaopolis

"We've got an incoming aircraft." Knuckles stated, seeing the Tornado passing by overhead, "Heh, leave it to them to be the last ones to the party."

Landing the plane, Tails and the others hopped off/out of it and walked over to their friends gathered nearby.

"You guys managed to avoid Eggman's forces; that's a relief." Sally sighed, "I was afraid you'd get caught heading towards Knothole after we'd left."

"That's not entirely accurate." Ryan chuckled, "I never really got to enjoy that vacation."

"Does that mean you ran into trouble?" Knuckles asked, "Though if it's you guys, I don't think I have to ask that question."

"Good to see you too Knuckle-head." Ryan laughed, "All I know is, I want to take a nap after all that; I just feel quite drained from the whole experience."

"You never did tell me what happened…" Amy mumbled at Ryan as they were escorted to their temporary resting quarters.

"What about him?" one of the echidna officers asked, pointing at Metal.

"He's harmless." Knuckles chuckled, "Just set him up with a room too, we'll get any info from them later."

After getting settled in their respective areas, Ryan tossed and turned in bed but just couldn't get any kind of sleep.

"Ugh…I just can't get comfortable hon." Ryan groaned, giving Amy a slight hug, "Everything that's been going on is just leaving more questions than answers."

"Don't worry Ry; I'm sure everything will reveal itself in time." Amy replied, kissing his hand, "Maybe a walk would help? I'm sure some fresh air could do you some good."

"You might be right." Ryan nodded, standing up and stretching, "I'll try not to be gone too long."

After getting his shoes on and holstering his saber, Ryan went outside and walked a while until he came to an area covered in marble and overgrown in slightly thick shrubs.

"Heh, I'd recognize this place anywhere." Ryan chuckled, "Marble Garden Zone…I couldn't stand this place in Sonic 3; especially that stupid sequence at the end of Act 2."

Shaking his head at how his past memories seemed silly being at the real place, Ryan continued his little hike enjoying the fresh air and peacefulness.

After covering a significant amount of ground and losing his way completely, Ryan sighed as he attempted to find the path back to Echidnaopolis.

"You'd think with those tall buildings, finding that place from here wouldn't be too hard." Ryan groaned, before realizing climbing a nearby tree would be a good idea, "Sometimes I wonder where my brain is."

After getting his bearings and seeing the direction he needed to be heading, Ryan took off at slightly more than a walking pace since he'd had enough of this zone.

'It's no Ice Cap Zone, that's for sure.' Ryan thought to himself, smirking with an attitude.

After reaching the camp, Ryan found himself to be hungry from his little excursion and decided to continue on into town to find some food.

"Hmm, I wonder if they have hamburgers." Ryan pondered as he walked the streets, garnering more attention than he would've wanted, "Jeez, I stick out like a sore thumb don't I?"

"Mommy, what's wrong with him? He's all tall and pale." A little echidna kid stated at seeing him, "And where's his fur? Did the rest fall off?"

Ryan chuckled at the little kids comment as the mother quickly hushed him and looked at Ryan.

"I'm sorry…he's just a little kid." The mother quickly apologized.

"Hey, calm down; it's no problem." Ryan replied, waving it off, "I realize I'm not exactly an everyday occurrence here."

Realizing everything was okay; Ryan watched her quickly run off with the little kid in tow.

'Let's just get that burger and vanish.' Ryan thought, seeing what he assumed was a street side vendor, 'Ah, finally.'

"What can I get ya mack?" the vendor stated, before looking Ryan over, "Yowza, we don't get many like you around here."

"Yeah, I've noticed." Ryan dryly replied, "Look, I just want two hamburgers please."

"A what-burger?" the vendor asked, puzzled.

"You know a hamburger." Ryan stated, noting his confused look, "It's a bun with a patty of meat between them covered in ketchup, mustard, onions, and maybe cheese."

"Sounds weird." The vendor replied.

"I mean, you serve chili dogs for crying out loud." Ryan sighed, "You're not just messing with me because I'm a human are you? I'm not in the mood for that right now."

"Jeez yous humans are touchy." The vendor joked, serving up two burgers for him and tossing them in a bag, "Normally I'd charge ya, but you played along pretty well there; that and you're drawing me a huge crowd to serve. Thanks mack."

"Uh, you're welcome I guess." Ryan muttered, taking the burgers and leaving, "Crazy ass furries…"

Back at the temporary base, Ryan walked down the hallway towards his room, wondering if Amy even ate hamburgers.

"Well, I'm sure she should…I think…ugh, the logic wrongness behind this just hurts far too much." Ryan grumbled, till he noticed a familiar blue hedgehog waiting outside his room, "Sonic? Something I can do for you bro?"

"Yeah, I needed to talk to you about something." Sonic stated, "I want to know what's going on…it's pretty obvious now that something happened between you and Amy."

"Well, duh. Anyone who's paying attention could see that dude." Ryan laughed, "What about it though?"

"Well, we were only gone for like two, maybe three months tops…that just doesn't seem long enough for you guys to get close like you are." Sonic explained, "Besides, I thought you had Callie…what happened?"

"After you guys bugged things went kind of downhill." Ryan explained, leaning against the wall, "Callie got very distant and cold to me, even just flat out ignoring me when we'd pass by one another. At that same time, through an odd twist of fate or something like that, I ended up rooming with Amy since I was under orders to stay close for "observation" by that quack doctor."

"I see…that explains that bit but when did you and Amy, well…" Sonic continued, looking for the right words.

"Well, about a month after that we had that crazy weather occurrence." Ryan muttered, "I assume you encountered it as well; anyway, I saved Amy from flying away and then went chasing after her at the early morning hours when she didn't come home. She told me something about what had happened between you and her."

"I see then…yeah, before I left I'd finally had it up to here with her constant advances." Sonic mumbled.

"From what she told me, you didn't use much tact in letting her down." Ryan grumbled, "She seemed pretty torn up if she was going to run off and sit drenched in pouring rain for nearly 4 hours."

"I just couldn't stand it anymore." Sonic groaned, "Everyday she'd come after me, and everyday I'd run away. When she finally kept up with me I knew I had to do something to get her off my back."

"So telling her off and yelling at her was the best option bro?" Ryan asked, "Somehow I doubt that."

"I don't see where it's your part to judge; I'm not the one dating outside my own species." Sonic retorted.

"Beg pardon?" Ryan asked in shock, "Would you care to repeat that?"

"I said, "I'm not the one dating outside my own species."" Sonic repeated, "You may have been in grief from being abandoned by Callie and Amy may have been heartbroken from what I said, but I still don't see how you two hooked up. It's just like with Shadow and that Maria girl he would talk about."

"Sonic, you're my best friend but I'm not sure I can deal with you saying something like that. This isn't like you at all." Ryan stated, shaking his head, "You can't possibly have a problem with two people being there for one another and helping them heal after tough times."

"Hmph." Sonic mumbled, walking away from him, "I got my answer and it was what I suspected; I'm not comfortable with this but do what you want."

"Oh, I get it now." Ryan said, a grin slowly appearing on his face, "You're jealous."

"Excuse me?" Sonic asked, stopping in his tracks.

"That has to be it. Why else would you be so upset that Amy and I are together?" Ryan stated, "You're jealous that she's happy now and it isn't with you."

"You're full of it." Sonic grumbled, "I'm glad she isn't bothering me and she's pestering someone else."

"I seemed to have touched a nerve." Ryan chuckled, "Regardless, I find it very small of you to think like this bro; I thought you would've been glad two of your friends have given each other support."

"…" Sonic huffed as he walked off, leaving Ryan alone.

'Well, that sucked a whole bunch; never thought Sonic would be like that…weird.' Ryan thought to himself, opening the door and walking in to his room.

"Ryan, are you okay?" Amy asked, seeing him enter their temporary room in a bit of a huff, "What happened?"

"Nothing too major…I just had a small chat with Sonic and well, I didn't exactly care for what he had to say." Ryan replied, plopping down on a chair, "Oh, I brought you a burger for lunch, but it's probably cold...do you even eat burgers?"

"I do silly; it's the thought that counts." Amy giggled, unwrapping her burger and taking a bite, "Mmm, haven't had one of these in a long time."

"Yeah, neither have I." Ryan joked, "I only had one two days ago at Station Square, but that seems like an eternity with all that's happened doesn't it?"

"Yeah; so, what did Sonic want?" Amy asked.

"He asked about us." Ryan sighed, "And then he reacted pretty negatively…I think he was jealous about something; he wasn't acting normally."

"I wouldn't expect much after the things he said to me." Amy sighed, "I'm surprised he went straight in your face about it."

"Yeah, that was pretty odd…something must've happened to him if he's got that "bros before hoes" attitude going on." Ryan mumbled back, finishing his burger and tossing the wrapper over his shoulder.

"What?" Amy asked puzzled, "What the heck does that mean?"

"Oh, it's a stupid saying from Earth; basically its meaning is your male friends are supposed to come before your girlfriend/fiancée/wife or what have you." Ryan explained, "It's pretty dumb but it's all I could think of to explain it."

"Huh…any other weird sayings from Earth I should be aware of?" Amy queried.

"If there are, I'll explain them when we get to them." Ryan chuckled, "Let's try for that nap again."

"Hmmm, you might be right about what you said Ry." Amy stated with a yawn, stretching and pulling close to him.

"You mean about Sonic and Sally?" Ryan asked, recalling a slight discussion they'd had before napping, "Maybe it is the stress of all that's happening that makes their relationship so hard…"

"So Sonic's just a little jealous or something since our relationship seems so carefree, even if a tad unorthodox." Amy giggled, "That's such a big word…you need to stop using those around me or I might just get smarter than you."

"Well, you smart off more than me, so maybe…" Ryan laughed, before being whapped by Amy, "Ow! I guess I deserved that…but I'm just joking Ames."

"I know." Amy smiled, kissing him softly, "You were gone a little long for just hamburgers and a walk; did you do anything else I'm not aware of?"

"Well…I did pick up something." Ryan admitted, getting out of bed and walking over to his jacket and uncovering a rectangular box, "I guess you could call it a gift of sorts…it's nothing special, but when I saw them I thought of you right away."

"Ah, Ry, you didn't have to get me anything." Amy murmured, a little embarrassed, "Now you're ahead in our little game."

"I'm sure you'll find some way to pay me back…or take the lead." Ryan chuckled, "So, you going to open it up or just stare at it all night?"

Showing all the patience of a two-year old, Amy tore into the box and squeed when she saw what was inside.

"Omigosh Ry! This outfit is just what I've wanted…how did you know?" Amy asked, pulling out a pair of pink track pants with a white stripe running down the sides.

"Well, I know you always complain about that outfit of yours flapping up way too much when your fighting so I figured those would work a lot better." Ryan explained, "Plus once I saw that, the shirt fit so well with it and then before I knew it, a new pair of shoes and some new wristbands finished out a brand new look."

"That's awesome and all Ry, but how did you afford all this?" Amy asked slightly confused, "Where did you get currency good here?"

"Well, that's the darndest thing." Ryan replied, "Given that I've not really worried about money what with being with you guys and all for the past however many years it's been, it would seem I still had money from my time in my wallet."

"Okay, but what does that have to do with anything?" Amy stated, moving into the bathroom to change into her new outfit.

"Well, I went to pay…."

"Oh snap." Ryan exclaimed, noting he neglected to figure out how he was going to pay for it.

"Is there something wrong sir?" the cashier asked.

"Um…hmm…do you guys take Visa?" Ryan asked.

"Huh? Why would we take visas? We're a clothing store not a border patrol." The cashier replied.

"Hmmm…what about American Express?" Ryan pried, hoping he was getting warm.

"What does a train have to do with paying?" the cashier asked back.

"Ugh…what about Discover?" Ryan asked with a sigh.

"Oh, sorry, we don't take that." The cashier replied, "Are you stalling or something sir?"

"Well, you see…I only have this kind of money on me." Ryan stated, pulling out what appeared to be an American dollar bill.

"Is that…what kind of money is that?" the cashier asked, "Wait…is that…can I see it?"

"Huh? Oh, um…okay…I don't see why not." Ryan answered back, handing him the dollar bill, "It's just a dollar bill."

"Just a dollar bill?" The cashier shouted, "You really have no idea what this is worth do you?"

"Uh? One dollar? Is there a camera somewhere? Or is this some type of joke since I'm human because those are getting really worn out." Ryan huffed at the shenanigans going on.

"Look…if you give me this you can have what you picked up for whatever lucky girl this is for." The cashier replied quickly, "It's equal…do we have a deal?"

"Um, okay sure why not? I don't see any problem with that." Ryan replied, "Uh, nice doing business with you…I think."

"…and so I'm not sure what really happened there but I'm thinking maybe my old currency is like some super collector's item or something cause that guy was all but salivating over that dollar." Ryan finished explaining, "How odd…I'll have to look into that later."

"Ah, this is perfect!" Amy shouted, striking some goofy pose in her new outfit, "You'd think it'd be more restricting than my dress but I can move around much more freely now."

"That's what I was going for. Anyway…" Ryan started before a knock at the door interrupted him.

"Yo." Knuckles stated, poking his head in the door, "Sally wants to talk to you guys about what happened with Eggman."

"Thanks Knux, we'll be right there." Ryan replied, "Well, let's go fill her in."

Temporary Meeting Space

"Good, now that Ryan and Amy are here we can start." Sally stated, seeing the two of them walk in, "Okay, so what happened with you guys before you got here?"

"Well, after Sonic and Tails met me at Knothole, we ended up running into Eggman's armada on the way here." Ryan explained, "I figured it was a good thing too since Eggman attacked me at Station Square after causing some trouble."

"I guess your vacation didn't go too well." Sally replied.

"Oh, it was good enough…I'm just glad we could save Station Square. If only we could've saved Silver." Metal stated with a sigh, "I know the Mayor said his new body would be ready soon but still."

"Okay…so what all happened after you landed on the ship?" Sally continued.

"Well, after fighting our way to the bridge, the three of us were trapped in something similar to Eggman's old virtual reality trap." Sonic stated, "Except the only one to feel off was Ryan…it may have to do with him not being immersed in it before."

"That may be possible…so I assume he broke free and then freed you two after that?" Sally asked.

"Yep. Then Ryan went a little crazy and well, ran Eggman through rather harshly." Tails stated with a slight chuckle, "Dude lost his mind it seemed."

"Goodness." Sally gasped, "Are you saying he's dead again?"

"Well, I'm no doctor but I don't think you can survive with your head gone." Ryan joked, rubbing the back of his head.

"Good lord, remind me to not get on your bad side." Knux commented.

"After that we took off and Tails set the ships to blow up." Amy finished, "That's about the short of what happened…but something is sitting in the back of my mind."

"It's about Eggman isn't it?" Ryan asked.

"What about him?" Tails asked.

"Just the way he fought and his abilities…the mannerisms felt the same but something I can't shake is how those two things were different. I've got a bad feeling this isn't over yet." Ryan murmured ominously.

"Yes, well, anyway you've done well and there isn't much we can do till we're sure things are safe so just relax and we'll keep you posted." Sally explained, "Maybe Knuckles can keep you busy with some of the sights."

"Yeah, I haven't really been able to see much of Angel Island before." Ryan stated.

With nothing further to report, everyone went back to what they were doing until anything further came up.

Four days later

"Ugh, bored, bored, bored." Ryan quipped, flipping through the channels, "Even light years away television is just as boring as ever."

"Well, there has to be something to do." Amy stated, "We haven't heard anything about Eggman recently so things are quiet…too quiet. I know…let's go do something fun."

"What did you have in mind?" Ryan asked, standing up and stretching.

"Oh, you'll see…I figured you'd get stir-crazy soon enough so I talked to Knuckles and he set up something for us." Amy replied, "So come on!"

Grabbing Ryan by the hand and dragging him, which, given their size difference is an amusing sight; Ryan was led of to…

Ice Cap Winter Resort

"They turned the Ice Cap zone into a ski resort?" Ryan asked, blinking in slight amusement, "Yeah that makes perfect sense. Of course, why not?"

"Oh come on…let's go snowboarding. Knuckles and the others should be meeting us soon." Amy stated, pulling Ryan along.

"Okay, but how are you going to find a snowboard my size…it's not like my size is common around here." Ryan commented.

"Oh don't worry…we'll find one that works." Amy stated, "Oh look, here comes Knuckles with the others."

"You guys made it. Cool." Knuckles stated seeing them waiting, "A thought dawns on me though…you've never snowboarded before have you Ryan?"

"Not really…always wanted to though." Ryan replied, "Always seemed easy enough since it's all about balance."

"Oh, okay then…so you don't mind looking foolish." Sonic commented.

"I'm going to ignore that, I guess you two were the only ones that felt like joining us?" Ryan asked with a sigh.

"Now don't be forgettin' me sugah." Bunnie stated, walking up behind them, "I had to take care of a few things so we'd be all set."

"Wait…snow…and…" Ryan mumbled before his face slowly developed a huge grin.

"Dahlin', what's the matter with him?" Bunnie asked Amy seeing Ryan's face contorting as such.

"Oh God…don't…don't." Amy sighed, but it was too late.

"That would make you a Snow Bunny!" Ryan stated with a laugh.

"That was an awful pun sugah." Bunnie sighed, "Why would y'all do that?"

"You guys know me; I'm not one to pass up bad puns like that." Ryan chuckled, "So, are we all set to have some fun?"

"Okay…balance is just a bit of an issue." Ryan commented, trying to stay straight and not fall over, "I think I'm getting the hang of this."

"You know, it just dawns on me…didn't we board back during the Ark incident?" Sonic asked, attempting to create a plot hole.

"Well, that was street shredding on a solid surface…this is on a slightly less stable surface so that's going to cause more balance issues." Ryan explained, taking a tumble after loosing his concentration, "Argh…I had it too."

"Oh, okay…that makes sense." Sonic replied, apparently satisfied with that answer.

"Hey, where did Bunnie disappear to anyway?" Amy asked, strapping on her board.

"She said she had something to take care of." Knuckles answered, "So, ready to tackle the slopes for real Ryan?"

"Heh, I'm always ready." Ryan replied with a grin, "I won't loose my balance again!"

'We'll see how cocky you are after this.' Sonic thought to himself with a chuckle.

Pausing at the top of the hill, Ryan looked at which of the courses seemed appropriate for him and found the perfect one.

"And the bad puns continue with the Bunny Slope!" Ryan chuckled loudly, "Oh…why do I love good bad puns so much?"

"All a part of your charm hon." Amy replied, "So let's go!"

"We'll catch up guys; we need to check our boards over one more time before we head down." Knuckles stated.

"Oh okay, see you at the bottom then." Ryan stated, pushing down the slope.

About five minutes later, Ryan felt something was amiss.

"This slope seems kind of off…I think the snow's too loose." Ryan stated, having trouble keep his balance.

"You doing okay there Ry?" Amy asked, slaloming through the trees.

"I don't think this is a Bunny Slope." Ryan stated, "Oh crap! Moguls!"

"Kupo?" Amy asked with a strange look.

"I said Moguls not Moogles!" Ryan shouted back, trying to keep his balance whilst riding over the bumps of snow and ice, "Argh, damn speed bumps."

After ten harrowing minutes of navigating, Ryan finally got through and regained balance and control.

"Thank God…I'm almost afraid what else could go…oh God why did I say that?" Ryan queried with a sigh as he saw a giant ramp that he was rushing towards.

"Ry!" Amy shouted, pulling back and stopping upon seeing the huge ramp, "Sonic must've been behind this…"

"Oh God…wait a minute…I can do this. I can't let some snow beat me!" Ryan shouted in confidence, "It's time for some Heavy Shreddin'!"

Leaning down to pick up some speed, Ryan raced towards the ramp and jumped at the apex.

'Let's see Sonic do this!' Ryan thought, flipping over and spinning around as he flew through the air.

After thoroughly showing off (and cheating cause of his abilities), Ryan made sure to land and then, while attempting to stop, ran right into a barricade.

"Ugh." Ryan grunted as he was buried in snow, "Dammit…"

"Ry!" Amy called out, digging in the snow, "Come on stay with me!"

"It's too cold here." Ryan mumbled as he shook his head, "Oh, hey Ames…did you get the number of that tree that jumped out in front of me?"

"Uh, sure I did…let's get you up and stabilized." Amy replied, helping him out of the snow.

"Did I win?" Ryan asked, "Did I stick my dismount?"

"Oh dear…his brain's been scrambled." Amy sighed under her breath, "Sure you did hon, let's go get some cocoa."

After catching up (and Sonic and Knuckles being chided for their deception), the group stowed their gear and warmed up at the lodge.

"Well, I think that went well." Ryan stated with a laugh, "Still don't appreciate that deception though…I'm surprised you went along with it Knuckles."

"Well, um…I…I was tricked!" Knuckles shouted, slightly flustered at being found out.

"Honestly, when aren't you?" Amy chuckled, "Though I suppose you two probably already had enough retribution when Bunnie found out and let you guys have it for being immature."

"Peh, you can't take a simple joke." Sonic muttered.

"Anyway, I've had enough of all this cold weather…I need something warmer." Ryan grumbled, "Any ideas Knuckles?"

"Well, I do have one…" Knuckles stated, "I'll have to get things ready so I'll let you know when."

"Sounds fine to me…I've had enough adventure for right now." Ryan replied, "I'm heading back; you coming Ames?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Amy retorted, getting up and following him.

"I'll join y'all later sugah…you take care now, okay?" Bunnie stated, waving goodbye to the group.

Later that day

"Hmmm…I wonder if that thing I asked about is coming along." Ryan murmured aloud.

"You mean with Knuckles?" Amy asked, idly flipping through the channels.

"No, no; I asked Sally to send a recon team to find any wreckage from Eggman's fleet that could be analyzed." Ryan stated, "Those inconsistencies with Eggman really bugged me…I almost wonder if it was a fake."

"A fake? Would he have something like that ready?" Amy asked, putting down the remote to focus on the conversation.

"Well, I think I recall it happening before…but he wouldn't make it have abilities beyond his; he'd be too proud to make anything that can surpass his abilities." Ryan surmised, "Anyway, I hope something about that comes up soon…it's really bugging me."

A knock at the door signaled Knuckles presence and so the group headed off to wherever Knuckles had arranged relaxation time now.

Hydrocity Amusement Park and Spa

"Okay…Ice Cap I understood but turning Hydrocity into a…water park?" Ryan asked with a shake of his head, "Uh…I…urm…my brain hurts. Didn't this place used to be a sewer at some point?"

"What's so hard to figure out? It's water…its pipes…its business sense!" Amy shouted, "Besides, I love water parks! Any excuse for crazy rides is good by me."

"Okay, but I look ridiculous in this swimsuit you picked out for me." Ryan groaned, face palming, "I know you mean well but…"

"What's wrong with it?" Amy asked, "I think it makes you looks cute."

"That's just it." Ryan sighed, "I get stares enough as it is…in fact, I feel like everyone is looking at me for some reason…other than being twice nearly everyone's height."

"Hmmm…that does seem a tad odd." Amy replied with a nod, "Oh well, come on let's go on that one first!"

'Ah, good, he's finally here. I'm going to have to make my move then if I'm to get him alone.' Thought a bikini clad figure, watching Ryan being dragged off by Amy.

"Must you always pick the craziest rides Ames?" Ryan huffed, noting the huge line and number of twists and turns that this particular slide had.

"Those are the most fun though!" Amy shouted back, "I still don't get how these are all so troublesome but all that fighting you've done isn't."

"That's an easy one hon; it's one of those rules of being a hero: being able to take on fierce opponents in unbelievable battles, but then having some silly, irrational fear." Ryan easily explained, "Hence, the crazy coaster or ride dislike."

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard." Amy groaned, "Anyway, it looks as if we're next so you better not drown or anything stupid on me."

"Hey, I'm not Sonic so I know how to swim." Ryan scoffed, "Just get your pink butt in the float!"

Sticking her tongue out at him, Amy jumped in the front of the float, followed by Ryan, who then pushed off into the slide.

'Time to make my move.' The previous figure stated, pushing a button hidden by some moss and stepping into through a hole in the wall, 'It's been a hard job seeking you out, he really isn't paying me enough for this.'

"Ahhhh!" Ryan shouted, "I hate long, dark tunnels like these."

"Oh calm down." Amy laughed, "It's not like we're going out of control or something."

Unbeknownst to them, something or someone had altered the tunnel they were currently passing through onto an old system of tubes used when Hydrocity was just a leaky, sewer-esque area.

"Why do I get the feeling something ominous just happened?" Ryan asked, noting the ride through the tunnel seemed longer than it should have been, "This tunnel did not look this long from the outside."

"I think you're just freaking out…or maybe not." Amy noted, seeing the piping change colors, "I don't like this Ry, what's happening?"

"Argh…something else to ruin our fun; what could it be this time?" Ryan asked, seeing a light coming closer, "I think we're finally nearing the end of this trip. I hope you're ready for whatever's going to happen."

Instinctively, Ryan went to reach for his saber and only found empty air, remembering he had left it back at the locker area.

With a rushing speed, the two of them flew out of the tube and plummeted down into a calm looking space devoid of any other people.

"I don't like this at all." Ryan stated, checking out the surroundings, "This must be an old area they sealed off when they converted Hydrocity."

Climbing out of the float, all was quiet for the two until…

"How astute of you," A female voice stated, "You've proven very hard to track down human."

"Hmmm…Ry, doesn't that voice sound familiar?" Amy asked, racking her brain for the reason why.

"I think you're right…and I know who that is." Ryan replied, pointing in the direction of the voice, "Only one person's voice could be that unnecessarily sultry, Rouge the Bat."

"My, my, quite the compliment," Rouge chuckled, stepping out of the shadows, "And from the human of all people."

"I knew it, though why did you bring us here?" Ryan demanded, "What do you want with us?"

"Well, to be honest, I only meant to grab you away from the crowds, but well…the way that girl is clutched all over you I should've expected as much." Rouge replied, pointing at Amy, "Besides, it's not like I'm a bad guy or anything."

"Yeah, you're just a bit manipulative." Amy stated, rolling her eyes.

"Ouch, all this hostility when I just came to deliver some information for you." Rouge sighed, sitting down in the shallow waters, "He really didn't pay me enough for this."

"He? Who are you talking about?" Ryan asked, "And what information?"

"Shadow of course. He asked me to track you down while he kept checking things." Rouge explained, "He said it was of utmost importance that I find you."

"Why Ryan?" Amy asked, moving to where Ryan had sat down and glaring at Rouge, "What's this got to do with?"

"Eggman…or what you think was him." Rouge sighed, "I don't really get it myself, but he said something about Eggman not being Eggman and that it might be worse than we thought."

"How odd…that's what Ryan was talking about a couple days ago." Amy added, "Is there anything else Shadow mentioned?"

"Something strange…something about…he was a little confusing when he told me about this; he detected some strange energy signature a couple months ago that almost seemed like Chaos Control but it wasn't." Rouge tried to explain, "He was very complicated with this part."

"A few months ago would definitely be after we came back, but…before Eggman was beaten down." Amy stated, "What does it mean Ryan?"

Ryan wasn't quite paying attention as his mind had already deduced what that meant and if it was true, then everything that had been happening to him began to make sense, all the pieces coming together.

"Uh, what's wrong with him?" Rouge asked, noting Ryan's vacant stare and silence.

"I think he's thinking…I think. He likes to do this where he stares off into space and gets lost in thought." Amy replied, "He'll come out of it soon enough."

"Heh, I bet I know something that'll snap him out of it." Rouge stated with a laugh.

"Eh? Sorry girls…something just came to me when I heard that." Ryan apologized, "So, anything else? At least we know Shadow's still alive considering he disappeared before Sonic and Tails took off after Ixis."

"Just to say you're on the right track and to keep going with what you think is the right track." Rough shrugged, "I know, it's confusing as hell to me too."

"Hmm…I think I get what he means." Ryan surmised, "What is he doing anyway?"

"Looking for the Chaos Emeralds from what I could gather; he thinks they'll come in handy." Rouge replied, "Anyway, that's all he told me…"

"Well, this definitely is confusing, but at the same time it still…makes sense." Ryan stated, shaking his head, "I appreciate the info delivery Rouge, keep us up to date if Shadow uncovers anything else."

Ryan and Amy's Room

"That was really weird." Ryan stated, still trying to piece together all the info they'd just gotten, despite how confusing and disjointed it was.

"I guess Shadow must've been in a big hurry to really explain things like that." Amy replied, handing Ryan a drink before jumping into his lap, "Don't let it bother you too much Ry; it'll all become clear at some point."

"Yeah…that's what I'm afraid of." Ryan stated, taking a sip of his drink and leaning back in his chair, "That's definitely what I'm afraid of…"

A few hours later, Ryan's feelings about this would prove true, as the recovery team finally salvaged all they could and had returned to Echidnaopolis.

Ryan spear-headed an investigation of all that was recovered in an attempt to find that last critical piece that would explain everything.

Barely stopping to eat or drink, Ryan almost bordered on obsession as he tried to solve this puzzle that threatened the tenuous hold on peace Sonic and the others had worked for.

Sonic, yes, that was one thing that bothered Ryan; not so much the incident but rather Sonic's almost total obliviousness towards it ever happening, a fact that also unsettled his thoughts.

It was Sonic that helped Ryan as best he could as he hunted down any scrap of info that might have been useful in researching the wreckage.

'This change in him is odd…it's like this is the real Sonic and that other one was some pissed off, crazy alter-ego.' Ryan thought, noting Sonic dashing about, 'Or maybe he's trying to make up for being a jerk? I don't think I can just out-right ask him, so…I'll have to keep an eye on that as well.'

With time, though, Ryan and those helping him had gone over all but a final few pieces of scrap and were yet to find any information from them.

"Dammit…all this work and nothing!" Ryan shouted, pounding his fist on the desk, "I was so certain we'd have found something by now."

"Calm down." Sally replied, "We're not done yet, but you need to rest. You've been burning the candles at both ends so much I don't think anything but the wick is left…and even that's stretching things."

"Sals right bro." Sonic added, "Just breathe and calm down; why don't we go out and relax tonight so you can unwind a little?"

"You guys are right. This'll be here tomorrow so there's no point in completely burning myself out." Ryan agreed, "I'll go get Amy and meet you guys back here in a bit."

After Ryan had left to get Amy, Sonic looked at Sally as if he had a question in mind.

"Something on your mind, Sonic?" Sally asked, "You stare any harder at me and you might burn a hole through me."

"It's just…has Ryan been acting odd towards me? I get this feeling that he thinks I did something to him…" Sonic asked, "It's…uncomfortable."

"I'm sure he's just worn out…and well, you did pull that practical joke on him." Sally answered, "I'm sure he's just focused on finding some clue as to what's been going on here, that's all."

"I suppose that's probably it…but still…" Sonic mumbled before trailing off, "Anyway, let's enjoy ourselves tonight, I know we deserve a little fun after all this zaniness."

3 A.M.

A loud crash is heard as a strikingly familiar figure breaks into the facility currently housing the wreckage fragments from Eggman's fleet.

Dashing at an unusual speed, the figure quickly takes the pieces wanted and makes haste, noting that the security detail will soon be upon the lab.

As the figure dashes out, he smiles at the security camera almost conceitedly, and then blasts off into the dead of night from whence he came.

9 A.M

Yawning and stretching, Ryan blinked his eyes and slowly woke himself up; last night's relaxation helping put his mind to rest.

"I can finally think straight for the first time in a couple of days." Ryan murmured to himself, cracking his knuckles, "Well, better get dressed and finish examining those pieces."

Noting Amy was still sleeping away in the bed, Ryan chuckled and got dressed, stopping only to kiss her forehead before taking off to meet the others.

"Hey guys, you ready to crack this mystery today?" Ryan asked, opening the door and stepping into the facility…and noting an unusual amount of guards, "What's going on guys?"

"How about you tell us human?" stated a rather angry sounding echidna, "You should know after all, given you did this."

Looking around, Ryan noted the amount of disarray that the lab facility was in, with a lot of things busted up and tossed around.

"Me? Are you on crack or something? Why would I break into the lab?" Ryan questioned, "I was out last night with Sonic and the others and then crashed afterwards; there isn't anyway I could've come here even if I wanted to."

"I think this proves otherwise." Dictated the echidna, pulling out a security tape and placing it inside a nearby monitor, "Let's see how your story holds up to this!"

On the tape, a figure that looked remarkably like Ryan was seen breaking into the lab, stealing some of the wreckage, then grinning at the camera and dashing back off into the night.

"The hell was that about?" Sonic questioned, "Ryan? That looked a lot like you."

"And according to this world's logic, Shadow looks a lot like you." Ryan retorted, "You guys should know better than that after all this time."

"Are you trying to tell us that isn't you human?" the echidna stated, staring at Ryan.

"Look, um….Remington is it? At least, that's what your nametag states…anyway, everyone on this planet seems to suffer from some strange disease where somewhat but not really identical people are confused for one another." Ryan explained, "There are three key things in that video that completely fly in the face of you thinking that was me."

"Oh really now, so you're some type of detective are you or perhaps a sleazy attorney?" Remington scoffed, "Then go ahead and show us this proof."

"Very well, you did ask for it." Ryan stated, starting at the beginning, "Clearly, I wouldn't have to bust into the facility for the simple fact that I have access and still do have access thanks to my card."

"Well, that could just be a cover-up to throw it off your trail. You wouldn't be stupid enough to use your card when it makes a record of it when you check in." Remington retorted.

"Okay, but then think on this, why is the me in that video doing something I don't recall ever being able to do before?" Ryan asked, freeze-framing at the part where he was just dashing out of the lab, "Last I checked humans can't exude flames from the bottom of their feet."

Remington gasped at missing something so blindly obvious and seemed a bit lost for words.

"Well, I…but that close-up we have, right here." Remington stated, rewinding it to the smile shot to the camera, "That is clearly your face."

"Ah yes, well, that is true; it does look like me." Ryan stated, stroking his chin in thought, "However, let's zoom in a bit closer, shall we?"

Using the computer hooked to the monitor, Ryan zoomed in, particularly on the eyes of his doppelganger's face.

"Notice anything in particular?" Ryan queried about the picture shown.

"His eyes and his pupils both look like pixels or something." Remington replied with a gulp, finally beginning to put two and two together.

"That's right; you've figured it out now as have everyone else here I'd gather." Ryan replied with a nod, "That the Ryan in this picture is none other than my metallic fake!"

"That's not possible though, you defeated him on two separate occasions as I recall." Sonic interjected, "On Little Planet before getting the Time Stones and then before he could decimate the encampment all those humans from your planet were living after using the Time Stones."

"That is true…it is very puzzling how he came back." Ryan added, "Yet, this video is proof positive that it is him or at least another version of him. One thing does bother me though…why did he take part of the wreckage? Specifically why did he take the last samples we had yet to examine?"

2 A.M. The Next Day

After an unsettling revelation, Ryan had returned back to his room and filled Amy in on all that had occurred, all the while trying to figure out why and how his metallic mimicker had come back from the grave.

Eventually though, he'd fallen asleep while trying to figure things out and currently was collapsed on his bed, Amy's hand holding his as the two of them slept…unaware at the sinister actions soon to be unleashed.

Ryan's eyes flew open as if he had been having a bad dream, and he looked around to see Amy was nearby and he was still in bed.

Sensing something was amiss; Ryan eased his way out of bed so as not to disturb Amy and tossed on his shoes, walking towards Echidnaopolis' downtown district.

"It sure is quiet out here…but it's late." Ryan said to himself, "I can't shake this pressure though…I feel something is off."

Hearing footsteps, Ryan turned around and drew his saber…only to see Sonic and Amy right behind him.

"Gah, you two nearly gave me a heart attack." Ryan sighed, putting away his saber, "Why are you following me?"

"Well, Amy woke up and saw you were gone and I guess I was the only person around she thought to go to. I still feel kind of bad about how I treated her so well, here I am." Sonic chuckled, "What are you doing up this late?"

"I feel something…a presence that I haven't felt since…" Ryan quoted, "Since that time at Little Planet."

"Wait, are you saying that your robotic duplicate…is here?" Amy gasped, "Oh that is not good."

"Heh, heh, heh…"

"Where did that come from?" Sonic stated, looking around for the source.

"So the little ants decided to come out and play."

"I recognize that synthesized voice." Ryan growled, "Sonic…I want you to take Amy and keep her safe. I don't want any of my friends to get hurt."

"But Ry, can you really take him on by yourself?" Amy worriedly questioned, before being grabbed by Sonic, "Hey, stop that!"

"Sorry Amy, but Ryan knows what he's talking about. If I didn't get you out of here and keep you safe, he'd hunt my ass down for the rest of time." Sonic quipped, "We're out of here Ryan, don't die on us."

"I won't, I promise." Ryan stated, running towards the park at the central of downtown and finding who he thought he would, "Well, well, it's been awhile my droid doppelganger."

"Ah, Ryan, so good to see you after all this time." Metal Ryan calmly replied, "I've been dying to catch up."

"I bet you have, that video you sent really shows it." Ryan snapped back, "Why did you come back and more importantly how did you come back?"

"Come now my flesh-and-blood counterpart, why ruin the suspense now? I'd much rather drag it out with a nice, climatic fight." Metal Ryan cackled, "This city is just begging for destruction after all."

"Damn…well, you've forced my hand. I'll fight you, but only where I choose to, away from all of these civilians." Ryan grumbled, having to play to his duplicate's ploy.

"Heh, very well…any area will be a fitting last stand for you given your history with this world." Metal Ryan replied with a bow, "Lead the way."

"No funny business." Ryan stated, dashing off past the edge of the city and heading into further regions of Angel Island.

"I wouldn't think of it." Metal Ryan quipped, grinning evilly as he followed Ryan further and further until they reached…

Sandopolis Zone

"I think we've run far enough, so let's get this fight started." Ryan stated, turning around and facing his fake.

"Tons of sand all around, what a quaint choice you've made. Fitting this land of ancient kings will become your tomb. At least you'll have a lot of company in the afterlife." Metal Ryan replied, pulling out his weapon, "I've had a few modifications since the last time, so let's see what you've got."

"Oh, I surely won't disappoint." Ryan grinned, pulling out his saber and dashing towards his copycat.

Expecting this, Metal Ryan went to block but was caught off guard when Ryan used his momentum to blast sand all around, blinding his metal self's vision.

"Argh, you cheater!" Metal Ryan shouted, converting one of his hands into a fan and blowing the sand away…only to see Ryan was missing, "Running away now, are we?"

Surveying the area, Metal Ryan noticed tracks in the sand, heading towards the temples.

"My poor, stupid organic counterpart, choosing this place will be your undoing." Metal Ryan cackled, following Ryan's footprints in the sand…till they just stopped.

"But that's not possible…where could he have gone?" Metal Ryan asked, looking around the area, "There's nowhere he could have possibly gone without leaving a trace."  
Still looking everyway but the one he should of, he was unaware of a hand reaching out from the sand and grabbing onto his leg.

"What the hell? He's below me?" Metal Ryan shouted, feeling a tug on his leg as he was pulled down into the sand and held fast.

Satisfied with his handiwork, Ryan tunneled out of the sand and stood over his momentarily incapacitated foe.

"What? After all the time I've spent around burrowing creatures you don't think I wouldn't have picked up any of their skills?" Ryan asked in response to the look his metal copy was giving him, "Please, give me a little more credit than that."

"Argh…you stupid fool." Metal Ryan grunted, trying to struggle free, "This won't hold me…"

"Oh, it'll hold you long enough for me to get the info I want." Ryan chuckled, tapping him on the head with his saber's handle, "How did you come back?"

"Heh, I wouldn't tell you anything like that…you really are stupid if you think I'd answer you like that." Metal Ryan scoffed, still trying to break free.

"Oh dear, that's too bad." Ryan murmured, shaking his head, "Well then, let's see if I can figure things out and possible get the truth out of you without even working you over."

Metal Ryan grumbled and rolled his eyes, unamused with his original's antics.

"Okay…you had to have been rebuilt, probably recently too." Ryan started, "If Eggman isn't really back like it's starting to look like, than someone else rebuilt you. That would be a logical thought."

Metal Ryan said nothing and stared at Ryan with a hateful glance, still trying to wriggle free from the sand.

"However, logic has no place on this planet so odds are you somehow survived, which seems really hard given the pieces we slashed you into, and then rebuilt yourself on your own." Ryan surmised, "That would clearly account for the changes in appearance to look more like me. The eyes still need work though."

Metal Ryan struggled more violently than before, though whether it was from Ryan getting too close to the truth or just being fed up with being trapped by sand of all things it wasn't very clear.

"ENOUGH!" Metal Ryan shouted, breaking free of the sand and dashing at Ryan, grabbing him by the head and flying towards the pyramids in the background, "Let's go introduce you to your roommates."

Plowing right through the wall, Metal Ryan flung Ryan at something hard and waited for him to gather his senses.

"Ugh, was not expecting that one." Ryan groaned, slowly getting up and shaking his head, "What did I hit?"

Noting the shape of the device, Ryan deduced it to be one of Eggman's old capture devices…though this one had been opened some time ago.

"Wait a minute. Sandopolis plus inside ruins plus opened Egg-capsule plus constantly dimming lights equals…oh snap." Ryan deduced, noting slightly transparent creatures appearing in the field of his vision, "You knew this was going to happen."

"Heh, of course. I am you after all." Metal Ryan cackled, "So, who you gonna call?"

"Not you." Ryan stated as he dashed further into ruins, pulling on a nearby chain and putting the lights back on.

With the ghosts temporarily held at bay, Ryan barely pulled up his saber to block Metal Ryan's attack, getting knocked onto a slightly unstable platform and being put into a slightly precarious position.

"Where to now my dear organic?" Metal Ryan cackled, slowly making his way to Ryan's position.

Surveying his surroundings, Ryan grinned as his one path became clear.

"See you." Ryan stated, simply taking one step back and going over the edge.

"What the hell?" Metal Ryan asked, rather confused by his original's actions, "Did he choose that over a death at my hands?"

Walking over to the cliff, Metal Ryan began cursing as he noticed Ryan getting away on a long sand slide, winding around the lower parts of the ruins and getting some distance between himself and his metal copy.

"He's stronger than I figured he'd be." Ryan grunted, pulling on yet another light lamp to keep the ghosts at bay, "I've got to find that path out of here…I know it's around here somewhere."

Groping along the walls, Ryan found a switch and pushed it, watching a wall slide out of place and open up into a large, empty room.

"I think I've found the place and none too soon." Ryan sighed in relief, entering the room and seeing a long tunnel at the end of it, "If I'm right, that's the place I want to go."

Not sensing anything was amiss; Ryan made a mad dash for the tunnel and was nearly there until…

"I've found you!" Metal Ryan shouted, plowing through a nearby wall and pinning Ryan to the ground, "You've provided quite a bit of entertainment; pity it has to end now."

"It's not over till I say it is!" Ryan shouted, pulsing his energy through the ground, causing it to collapse underneath the two of them.

"NO!" Metal Ryan shouted, tumbling end over end before kicking on his jump-jets, "You won't escape that easily!"

Unfortunately for his double, Ryan had used that diversion to escape down the tunnel and make his way forward, out of the ruins of Sandopolis and to…

Lava Reef Zone

"Okay, no more crazy ghosts to worry about." Ryan huffed, "I really wish Yoshi was here, he'd know how to take this guy down without a sweat."

Clutching his side, Ryan felt that same weird sensation stir up again.

"Oh God, not now of all times," Ryan groaned, "I'm not sure what's stirring it up but I've got to keep moving."

Dodging the lava pits and remnant robots from when Eggman had overtaken this area, Ryan soon found himself jumping precariously over a large lake of lava before a loud explosion rocked the area.

"I think it's safe to say he's caught up." Ryan murmured, pulling out his saber and turning around, "Took you long enough, getting slow metal-head?"

"Oh good, you've still got some of that wit about you." Metal Ryan replied, stepping out of a huge hole he'd blown in the rock formations, "I'd almost worried I'd nearly beaten it out of you already."

"Just try you're best." Ryan stated, assuming a battle stance, "I won't lose to the likes of you."

"Poor organic, you just don't realize what you're up against this time." Metal Ryan laughed, "Fine! I suppose being cremated is just as fitting a death for you as any other."

Kicking in his afterburners, Metal Ryan charged at Ryan, hitting him dead-on with his own saber and pushing Ryan ever so slowly towards the edge of the platform he was currently on.

'Oh, this isn't good.' Ryan groaned, 'He's stronger…or I'm weaker for some reason.'

Noting he was almost entirely out of options, Ryan did the last thing he could do and called forth the power in his arm, using its emerald to go Super.

"Ah, finally a challenge makes itself known." Metal Ryan quipped, seeing the golden aura surrounding Ryan, "The question is how long you can sustain that in your condition?"

'How did he…it doesn't matter right now.' Ryan thought, powering up his saber and pushing Metal Ryan back.

Taking a look around, Ryan saw a more stable fighting area and headed towards there, his spark trail leaving a clear path for his doppelganger to follow.

"You won't get far all hyped up like that Ryan." Metal Ryan shouted, chasing after him, "I'm going to finish this once and for all!"

Catching up with him, Metal Ryan knocked Ryan into the ground and then kicked him straight in the back, pushing him even further in.

Ryan grunted in pain at the feel of that metal foot digging into his back and powered up even more, lifting off the ground and dealing a killer uppercut to his fake's chin.

"That all you got?" Ryan huffed, the emerald taking its toll on his body.

"I'd say you're starting to run out of time." Metal Ryan answered, pulling himself out of the ceiling, "And when that happens…"

"Shut up! You don't know anything!" Ryan shouted, charging at Metal Ryan and locking fists with him, "I won't let you hurt anyone else!"

Pouring on the power, Ryan pushed harder and harder until…

Ka-chink!

Feeling incredibly weakened all of a sudden, Ryan looked and saw his emerald had shattered, fragmenting into a multitude of pieces and leaving his arm powerless.

"I think time just ran out for you." Metal Ryan stated, knocking Ryan to the ground, "I'm going to enjoy this!"

Unable to do much but watch, Ryan felt his copy grab hold of him and fling him around, battering his body against all the rock formations in the cavern.

"ARGH!" Ryan shouted, his body wracked with pain and his arm worthless, "It can't…end like this."

"After I beat you down, I'm going to take care of your friends." Metal Ryan stated, walking slowly to Ryan's struggling body, "One by one I'm going to make them suffer…and then that girl will be last."

"No…you…no." Ryan growled, his rage overcoming his body, "I won't…let you."

"Yes…I can see that that pink hedgehog means a lot to you now." Metal Ryan cackled, "I'll make her suffer the most; she'll be the last one left and then she'll beg me to kill her."

"NO!" Ryan shouted, a strange aura overtaking his body and giving him life as he charged straight at his metal copy, hell-bent on taking his life.

"What the hell?" Metal Ryan questioned, seeing his opponent suddenly renewed, "I don't know where this came from but it won't be enough."

Reaching his hand out, Metal Ryan deftly grabbed Ryan's head when it was close enough, winded up, and flung him with great force towards a wall.

Going through the wall, Ryan bounced and skidded, then felt himself go through something warm, before landing with a thud and being covered by an avalanche of rocks, the world growing dark and dim.

"Amy…I'm…sorry." Ryan gasped before closing his eyes.

"Pity…I'm actually sad it's over now." Metal Ryan sighed, his form flickering briefly, "Still, he seemed to do some damage to me. Maybe I should stay this way and do some more damage to him."

Metal Ryan focused his energy, seemingly altering his shape to an exact duplicate of Ryan down to every detail before blasting off back towards Echidnaopolis.

?

"His signal's vanished." Yosh stated, looking over a computer screen.

"That doesn't mean much. He could've just had his saber destroyed." Stated an armor clad figure, "Though, I don't like it."

"I know what you're thinking…which is why I'm glad that armor was finished as quickly as it was." Yosh replied back, looking at the figure, "Still, don't you think it's going to give away who you are to him?"

"I'm almost counting on that. It'll be like a little running gag between us." The figure replied with a chuckle, "I'm just glad you modified his saber like that, otherwise we'd never know where he was."

"I know, I feel bad but I knew he was going to be reckless." Yosh stated, "I didn't like tricking him like that."

"Regardless, I have his position so I'm going to go help him out. Whatever took him down isn't going to stop with just him after all." The figure replied, opening a panel in the wall and grabbing an oval shaped device, "I've got to find him and then help fight whatever is there."

"Well, good luck…it's been awhile since you've been in a fight after all." Yosh warned, "Don't push yourself too hard."

"Heh, don't worry about me, I'll handle this." The figure remarked, before jumping on the device and jetting off towards Ryan's last location.

Hidden Palace Zone

Ba-bump. Ba-bump. Ba-bump.

Ryan groaned as he opened his eyes and looked around, amazed he was still alive.

"Oh man…I feel totaled." Ryan stated, slowly standing up and grabbing his now limp arm, "That pressure in my chest…I feel it again. It's stronger now."

Walking forward towards a glowing light, Ryan took note of where he was and what might be going on.

"Hidden Palace…it's the only place I can think of that looks like this." Ryan muttered, "So then does that mean that object is calling me? And if so, why is it?"

Continuing onward, Ryan came upon the mural depicting the events from the end of Sonic and Knuckles.

"Heh seems silly seeing this for real after all this time." Ryan chuckled, before seizing up in pain, "It's getting stronger."

Ba-bump. Ba-bump. Ba-bump.

Fighting the pain Ryan continued onward until he reached a familiar area: the Emerald room.

"It's hurting so much but, I'm compelled to keep going." Ryan grunted, passing by the real Super Emeralds before ascending the stairway to…

"The Master Emerald." Ryan murmured, staring at it blankly.

BA-BUMP! BA-BUMP! BA-BUMP!

Clutching his chest, Ryan felt everything go blurry and yet he was possessed with the desire to reach out and touch the Master Emerald.

"I must…I don't know why but…I must reach forth and…take a hold of my destiny!" Ryan shouted, laying his hand on it, "…damn that sounded cheesy."

All was quiet until a bright light filled the room and Ryan screamed as something happened, a strange metamorphosis occurring…

"Amy…"

Echidnaopolis

Dark clouds rolled in over the city, full of foreboding feelings.

"I don't like this." Sonic murmured, "He's been gone far too long."

"He'll come back!" Amy shouted, "I know he'll kick that metal moron's butt and we can all be happy again!"

A large rumbling sound broke through the darkness, enhancing the feelings the storm clouds had set across the city.

"What the hell?" Sonic shouted, "An airship?"

"Yeah, we detected it none too long ago." Knuckles stated, running over to the two of them, "It just appeared out of nowhere and headed straight for the city."

"I don't like this. We need to get up there." Sonic grumbled, "Let's get the Tornado."

Nodding, Amy and Knuckles ran off with Sonic towards the runway, as the ship soon settled over the town and waited, as if knowing it had served its purpose.

"Heh…heh…heh…"

Hidden Palace Zone: Mural Room

"Ugh…what hit me?" Ryan moaned, blinking his eyes then shaking his head, "My voice? What's wrong with my voice?"

"Oh my, he's finally awoken." Stated a female voice, "Mr.…um, Getsuryuu was it? Your friend is waking up."

"Ah, finally, you always were one to laze about." Getsuryuu stated, walking over to his clearly confused friend.

"Wait a minute…Getsuryuu?" Ryan questioned, slowly standing up and feeling off, "No way….it couldn't be…could it?"

"What do you think?" Getsuryuu stated, undoing the hinge on his helmet and pulling it off, "It's been a long time Ryan."

"Y-Yoshino!" Ryan gasped, startled to see his best friend in front of him, "How? When? Why? What?"

"Heh, calm down, I'll explain everything; though you've got some explaining to do as well seeing as you're looking somewhat different than I last recall."

"Huh? What are you going on about?" Ryan queried, confused at Yoshi's statement.

Feeling a tap on his arm, Ryan noted a beige colored echidna who handed him a small mirror.

"Um…thanks. You look familiar." Ryan replied, "You're…Tikal, right?"

"Um, yes…it's been a long time." Tikal replied, "When I felt the Master Emerald react the way it did, I came forth to find out what was happening. I found your unconscious body and then your friend showed up."

Nodding, Ryan looked at the mirror and the face staring back at him wasn't his…or rather it shouldn't have been.

While it still had his base features, his body seemed to have been transformed into something else…someone else.

"So this is it." Ryan stated, looking back at the reflection he saw, "This is what's been going on…what everything's been leading to."

Flexing his hand and lowering his head, it was apparent the figure was in some sort of turmoil.

"Why didn't this happen when I needed it to…when it could've helped more?" Ryan asked aloud, wondering if the answers would ever be clear.

"I don't see why that matters now." Yoshino stated, placing a hand on Ryan's shoulder, "You've got the powers now so use them. We aren't done yet."

"…my metallic mimicker." Ryan growled, surprising himself, "That's new."

'It's about time you caught on you dolt.'

"Who the hell said that?" Ryan asked, looking around, "That voice…"

"Hearing things bro?" Yoshino asked, noting Ryan's behavior, "You almost look like someone I remember from long ago with how you look."

"I think I know who you're referring to." Ryan stated with a nod, looking at his clawed hands, and a pair of jet-black wings sprouting from his back, "That must've been his voice…"

Figuring he'd worry about things later, Ryan signaled to Yoshino that it was time to go and so the two of them took off, leaving Tikal fidgeting over something.

"Wait!" Tikal shouted, catching the two of them off guard, "I have something I need to show you."

"Eh?" Ryan murmured, "I'll see what she has to say Yoshi and then catch up with you."

"Heh, just don't take too long; don't want to start the fun without you." Yoshino quipped, taking off back towards the city.

Landing next to her, Ryan was led by Tikal to a sealed off room, the only light coming from a numerous amount of lanterns.

"I apologize for not mentioning this earlier." Tikal stated, "I didn't think about it until just now."

"That's no problem." Ryan replied with a wave, "So, what is it you wanted to show me?"

"This." Tikal stated, pointing at a huge mural that was missing some of its parts, "I think it might be related to this."

Wondering how it could relate, Ryan looked over the mural and noted two things that stood out: a picture of some strange creature that looked like a metallic Chaos and the fact that a winged person (or what looked like a person) was apparently fighting it.

"Hmm…peculiar." Ryan commented, stroking his chin, "What does it mean though?"

"Even I'm not sure…I just know that this mural has always caught my interest." Tikal sighed, "I guess it really wasn't anything important."

Ruffling the fur on top of her head, Ryan shot her his classic grin.

"I wouldn't say that…I think this might just be the last piece I was looking for." Ryan explained, "Well, I'll make sure you find out what happens since I know you can't be away from the M.E. for long. I'd better hurry if I'm going to catch up to Yoshino."

Echidnaopolis: City Skies

"This ship looks like one of Eggman's but…I don't think he's behind this." Sonic commented, running along the deck with his friends, "If there's any answers to be had, they'll be there."

Pointing towards the control room, the small group that had boarded the ship was unaware that Ryan's metallic copycat was watching and waiting to pounce.

"Heh, heh, heh…"

"Did you guys here something?" Metal asked, "It sounded like it was close."

"So good of you all to join me on my luxury cruise." Metal Ryan stated, "That way you can all see me take over this pitiful burg."

"Ryan? What's going on?" Knuckles asked, "What are you going on about?"

"That's not Ryan." Amy mumbled, "I know Ryan and that is not him in any way!"

"Oh well, it seems I can only fool some of you fools after all." Metal Ryan cackled, "I think it's time this charade was brought to an end."

Flashing, Metal Ryan's body seemed to be transforming, shifting, and rearranging itself, before finally transforming into…Metal Sonic?

"Hey, what gives here?" Metal questioned, "That's another me?"

"Not just any Metal Sonic." The new copycat stated, "I'm Neo Metal Sonic and I'm in a class way above anything you could ever hope to be in."

"Wait, you were just pretending to be Ryan's metallic doppelganger then, weren't you?" Tails shouted, "And you stole that piece of the wreckage because…"

"That's right organic; I took that piece because it would prove that I was behind everything that has transpired this whole time." Neo Metal cackled, "Eggman's seeming return, the events at Station Square, the attack on Knothole, the enormous fleet you and your meddling friends destroyed, and even pretending to be key members of your group just to sow the seeds of mistrust and disarray. A pity I was foolish enough to think Sonic and Ryan would be thrown by my theatrics but one never knows after all."

"It was you then that said all that stuff to Ryan!" Amy shouted, "You bastard! What reason could you have to do that?"

"I needed time to examine Ryan's data. After he easily dispatched me with whatever power he had, I needed something to give me time; so I simply tossed a little mistrust at Ryan to make him focus on something else." Neo Metal explained, "You all helped play out the rest with that little stunt and by the time any wreckage was found I'd perfected everything I needed to take down any threats to my plan."

Neo Metal Sonic cackled loudly as his cape flapped in the wind, the lightning accentuating the seriousness of the moment.

"And of course…I was right about taking down threats." Neo Metal murmured, "I think you know what I mean by that Ms. Rose."

"No…no…he wouldn't lose to you! He can't lose to you! There's no way! You're lying!" Amy shouted, pulling out her hammer, "I'll kill you!"

Sonic held Amy back long enough for her to gain her composure and glare menacingly at Neo Metal.

"Oh my, I seemed to have touched a sore spot." Neo Metal cackled, "Heh, sadly, this is the part where I end things. You know all about my plan now, what has really transpired all this time. Thus your usefulness has run out."

"That clears up a whole lot. However, I don't think you've had my say in this yet!"

With blinding speed, a familiar figure delivered a fierce kick to Neo Metal Sonic's head, knocking him off his perch and down through the top level of the ship's deck.

Spreading his wings, the figured landed on a nearby tower and grinned widely.

"Who the hell is that?" Metal shouted, "I don't recognize this guy."

"RYAN!" Amy shouted, "I knew he couldn't stop you!"

"That's Ryan!" exclaimed the group.

"Heh, nice job Ames; seems you're the only one that could tell." Ryan stated with a laugh, "I'll explain everything later on guys, as I'm sure you're dying to know what happened."

Hearing an explosion, Neo Metal Sonic flew up out of the deck and stared hard at Ryan, his metallic face contorted in anger and confusion.

"How is this possible? I saw you fly through lava, rock, and then get buried alive under an avalanche! There is no way you could have survived!" Neo Metal shouted, furious that his plan was crumbling all around him.

"Heh, guess you just aren't the one, Neo." Ryan quipped, "Let's go, Round Two starts now!"

Enraged at Ryan's mocking attitude, Neo Metal Sonic dashed at Ryan only to be blocked at every single turn.

"This is inconceivable!" Neo Metal screamed, trying his best to hit Ryan and being knocked back at every turn, "You shouldn't this strong? What are you?"

"You wanted to know what I'm made of?" Ryan asked, "Then let me show you just what I'm made of now!"

Throwing his arms out to his sides, Ryan gathered energy and formed two purple energy waves.

"Rolling Hell Wheels!" Ryan shouted, sending the forms of energy towards Neo Metal Sonic at blinding speed, "I won't let you hurt any of my friends!"

Caught off guard, Neo Metal Sonic was not prepared for such an attack and barely put up a defense before being battered and knocked down, crashing into the deck below.

"I guess that's all you've got then…pity, I was hoping for more of a challenge." Ryan commented, seeing Neo Metal's smoldering body.

"This is…not over. Not by any means!" Neo Metal shouted, floating up into the air and spreading his arms out, "You'll regret not finishing me off sooner!"

With a harsh groan, chunks of the ship began to fly off and surround Neo Metal Sonic, combining with him and melding into his body.

"Oh, well, shit." Ryan commented, "That's not a good thing I'm guessing."

Landing by his friends, Ryan tried to sort out the situation.

"Okay guys, this isn't good. Any ideas?" Ryan asked, searching for any plans.

His friends looked at him and then at the massive form Neo Metal was beginning to take on and sighed.

"I'm not sure what we could do in this situation." Sonic stated, "If he's given you trouble with whatever power you've found then I'm not sure all of us combined could stand a chance."

"We can't just give up though!" Amy shouted, shaking her fists, "We have to be able to do something!"

"Did someone ask for a miracle?" Yoshino stated, flying in on his hover-board with a familiar face in tow, "I think he might be able to provide it."

"I still say Chaos Control would've been quicker." Shadow grumbled at Yoshino, hopping off the board and acknowledging everyone, "So, looks like I was right."

"Yeah, that message Rouge delivered to us from you seemed to be correct." Ryan replied, "Though I hope your other errand was fruitful, we might just need them now."

"Ah yes, that." Shadow nodded, pulling out a large bag, "I think you'll be wanting these."

Opening up the bag, its contents were none other than the Chaos Emeralds.

"Perfect." Tails stated, "By the way, who's the tall guy?"

"Oh, long story short, he's a buddy of mine who somehow transversed time and space to come back and help out." Ryan explained, "It's complicated."

"Okay, that's good and all but Neo Metal finished." Metal interjected, "I think you'd better stall him while we get ready."

"So, that's all you've got now huh?" Ryan asked, "You just got bigger and not any smarter."

"I am the one who will rule over all." Neo Metal stated, "I am the one who will turn this planet's chaotic machinations to order."

"That's madness!" Ryan shouted, powering up his saber.

"Madness? No, this is Metallic Madness!" Neo Metal shouted, winding back and slashing at Ryan with a huge claw.

"Argh!" Ryan groaned, blocking the attack with his saber but getting knocked back in the process, "Okay, so you got stronger too. I'll give you that."

"You're pitiful little friends won't stand any chance against me once I take you out." Neo Metal roared, releasing a huge blast of energy at Ryan.

Caught by surprise, Ryan barely rolled out of the way of the scorching blast, noting that the melted metal deck could've been him.

"Anytime you guys are ready!" Ryan shouted, dashing around to distract and occupy Neo Metal Sonic.

"Okay everyone, hands in." Knuckles stated, lining up the Chaos Emeralds.

Sonic, Metal, Tails, Knuckles and Shadow put their hands over the Emeralds as Knuckles began to chant.

"The Servers are the Seven Chaos; Chaos is power enriched by the heart. Please, we need your power to save our world!" Knuckles chanted, the Chaos Emeralds glowing brightly.

"I can do this too! I have to help too!" Amy shouted, tossing her hand in with the other, "I know I have the strength to help Ryan!"

Swirling around, the Chaos Emeralds unleashed a huge flash before disappearing…and leaving six hyped up heroes in their place.

"Heh…heh…not bad Neo Metal." Ryan grunted, his jacket torn all over from the pounding he was taking, "You won't win though, you must know that."

Neo Metal Sonic let out a loud, electronically distorted cackle at Ryan's statement and glared menacingly at him.

"I won't win? What kind of bull do you believe in? You aren't any match for me and neither is anyone else on this pathetic planet!" Neo Metal shouted, winding back for a final attack, "With this all my troubles will be gone! What reason do you have to keep believing you can win?"

"Funny you should ask; it would seem the six reasons I believe in just showed up and they really want to get a word in edge wise." Ryan joked as his friends showed up to support him.

"There's only one superior copy of Sonic around here bud!" Hyper Metal Sonic shouted, "So the last thing we need is another one!"

"I suppose he has a point!" Super Sonic shouted, pointing at Neo Metal, "There's only one real one and one real copy and neither of them are you!"

"You'll pay for making us all look like fools!" Super Knuckles shouted, pounding his knuckles together, "We're going to flatten you."

"Yeah, we worked hard for peace and all that stuff!" Super Amy shouted, pulling out a huge hammer, "I won't let you destroy all that happiness we deserve!"

"There's enough trouble to deal with without another upstart megalomaniacal machine running around so we're putting you out of business!" Super Tails stated, assuming an attack position with his Golden Flicky comrades.

"After all the work I did to find the Emeralds I'm definitely irate." Super Shadow calmly explained, then glared at Neo Metal, "I'm itching to take out the frustration and you're looking like a good target! Chaos! Spear!"

Powering up his saber, Ryan pointed at Neo Metal Sonic with it and stared him down.

"Can you see now why someone like you could never believe in things the way we do? Our faith in each other gives us our resolve and allows us to stop anyone…even someone like you." Ryan stated, finishing up what everyone had said, "And that is why we believe we can win, because we have others to count on and to protect! That is something you'll never have!"

"Argh! You are all a bunch of fools!" Neo Metal shouted, grabbing at the ship and pulling off the wings, "I don't have to listen to all of this garbage! I have a world to conquer!"

Absorbing the wings, Neo Metal groaned and sprouted two large, wiry wings from his back, lifting off form the deck of his carrier and flying off into the sky.

"I don't think so!" Ryan shouted, chasing after him with his friends in tow.

"I wonder how this thing is still flying?" Yoshino questioned, seeing them take off.

"That would be my doing…" stated a mysterious stranger.

"You? Who…wait a minute…are you who I think you are?" Yoshino questioned, reaching for his sword.

"Please, there's no need for that here." The stranger replied, "I have no desire to fight right now."

"Okay…let's say I believe you." Yoshino stated, keeping his hand on his sword's handle, "Why and how are you here?"

"Now that's the million dollar question, isn't it?" The stranger replied, "Allow me to explain…"

Mobian Skies: Somewhere over the South Ocean

"Why can't I get rid of you fools?" Neo Metal shouted, swiping at Ryan and the others and being rather ineffective about it.

"It's because we never give up!" Ryan shouted, tossing his saber at him and tearing off a piece of his shoulder, "We can't let someone like you have your way."

Frustrated by the continued annoyance, Neo Metal charged up and unleashed an explosion of energy, shucking off a good portion of the ship he'd absorbed and hurling it at our heroes.

"Look out!" Super Sonic shouted, dodging a massive piece of the bridge, "Dammit! Why _won't_ he give up!"

"Probably for the same reason we wouldn't." Hyper Metal Sonic replied, "He is based on us after all…and you know how we think."

"I may not win but I will take you all with me! My pride will not allow any less!" Neo Metal shouted, stretching out his claws and grabbing Ryan's friends, "You will go out with me in a marvelous explosion! If I can't win then no one can!"

"What are we going to do?" Super Knuckles shouted, "I can't even budge with how he's got us."

"As the Ultimate Lifeform I refuse to go out in such a manner." Super Shadow groaned, struggling with all his might to break free.

"I can't let you do that." Ryan growled, dashing forth in a blast of light and slicing both of Neo Metal's hands off, releasing his friends, "Now! Let's finish this you guys as it's clearly dragged on long enough for the audience!"

Forming a circle around Neo Metal Sonic, the group of seven heroes charged up their power for a final attack.

'Oh, I've got a name you can use Ryan.'

'Oh, this I've got to hear.' Ryan thought in response to what was clearly Dark's thought, '…you've got to be kidding.'

"I can't believe we're going to use this but…here goes!" Ryan shouted, finishing powering up, "Let's run this guy through!"

"Strawberry on the Shortcake!"

With a blinding flash, the seven of them sped towards Neo Metal and tore his armor to shreds, causing him to wince in pain as bit by bit his form lessened till…KA-BOOM!

In one final explosion, all that remained was the nearly lifeless core form of Neo Metal Sonic, which plummeted towards the ocean below.

Hesitating for a moment, Ryan caught up with Neo Metal's body and grabbed a hold of him, stopping his free fall.

"Why…why did you stop me?" Neo Metal asked amidst crackling and sparking, "Why didn't you let me fall?"

"Heh, you could probably blame the person whose body I acquired; some nagging voice about how a rival like you doesn't come along all that often." Ryan replied, "Honestly I think that guy is a bit crazy but, well, you've been beaten…I think that's enough to keep you down for now."

"Argh…a warrior's pride isn't something petty to be underestimated." Neo Metal coughed, "Whatever…it's not like I need your pity anyway; do what you want organic."

With that Neo Metal Sonic shut off and hung limply from Ryan's grip.

'I really don't see why we shouldn't just get rid of him.' Ryan commented to Dark, flying back towards Angel Island with his friends.

'I have my reasons.' Dark mysteriously replied, 'It'll become clear eventually so let's just get back to where we belong for now.'

Angel Island

"I think I see them in the distance there." Sally stated, looking out through a pair of binoculars, "And they've got that other Metal Sonic you mentioned Yoshino."

"Heh, I knew they'd win. He's not going to give up that easily." Yoshino stated with a chuckle, "Why he brought Neo Metal back I'm not sure…he's still an enigma, that's for certain."

Landing and finally powering down, the heroes immediately collapsed from the strain…though Ryan still retained Dark's form.

"Odd…I guess I'll have to work on how to turn back and forth now." Ryan commented with a sigh, "Anyway, we won!"

"We'd gathered as much." Yoshino replied, "So I take it the puzzle is finished now?"

"At least this one, I'm sure another one will come around again soon enough." Sonic replied, "You know us…always getting into trouble."

"You say that like it's a bad thing." Metal Sonic chuckled, "Still…what are we going to do with him?"

Looking at Neo Metal's lifeless body, the group gathered then looked at Ryan for some type of explanation.

"Hey, don't give me that look; all I know is he was a heck of a rival and some nagging voice said to let him take his own path in life." Ryan tried to explain, "Something about since we beat him already that his pride was damaged enough that'd he might be a pain again but that he might find his own way and sort out his issues he has….and he clearly has them given his actions these last few weeks."

"That's the biggest crock of shit I've ever heard." Shadow huffed, "Whatever…you crazy humans never made any sense to me anyway."

With a huff and grumble, Shadow made himself scarce, going off to wherever he might till he was needed again.

"So, then, what are we going to do?" Amy chimed in, "We never did get to enjoy our vacation thanks to all this…"

A few weeks later, at Station Square…

'And so we recovered from our latest crisis and all the loose ends were somehow tied together…except for one thing that bugged me.' Ryan thought to himself, recollecting on how things had normalized, 'Yoshino said that someone was on the aircraft after we chased after Neo Metal. From the description I think I know who it is but…what he said made no sense. He was "tired of this game and that we'd won; that he was going on a journey to find something and wouldn't be a bother until then. So in the meanwhile, don't get lazy." What the hell did he mean by that?'

Looking over the view poolside, Ryan saw Yoshino clearly outpacing the others in a game of volleyball.

"You know, that's not really fair to them, is it Ryan?" Amy commented, sitting down next to him and handing him a drink, "You know, being about twice their height and all."

"Yeah…but I don't think he cares." Ryan laughed, "Maybe I should go even the odds a little."

"Nah, I think they're having too much fun for you to go spoiling it." Amy replied, leaning over and resting on him, "What are you doing all by yourself over here anyway?"

"Oh, just…thinking about things as usual." Ryan quickly stated, "Nothing to worry about."

"Okay, just don't hurt yourself doing that." Amy quipped with a wink, "Wouldn't want your brain to fry after all."

Sighing and shaking his head, Ryan could only smile at her comment and watch her run off to join the others.

'In the end, Yoshino and I decided telling them about that wasn't all that important, especially since they had bigger things to worry about.' Ryan continued recollecting, 'However, right now we're just all blowing off some steam relaxing…and on the city's dime too. Still, Yosh and Yoshino could lay off ribbing me so much over Amy and I's relationship….some things never change it seems.'

Ryan began to chuckle at his comment, but it was cut off short as an errant volleyball came flying at his face.

"Guh!" Ryan shouted, getting hit dead on the face and falling out of his chair, "Okay, who threw that!"

Looking at his friends, everyone was playing innocent and wouldn't fess up and then the finger-pointing started and chaos descended amongst the group.

"Well then, I guess I'll just have to play a little dodge ball then to find me a scapegoat." Ryan growled, turning into his alter-ego's appearance, "Let's go crazy!"

'As for Neo Metal…we did some alterations to make him a little less dangerous but left him alone for the most part.' Ryan thought, while hurling the volleyball at Yoshino, 'He just up and left after hanging around for a while…I'm sure we'll hear from him some day. At least Dark thinks so, so who knows?'

High above the city, a metallic figure looked down at the group from the rooftops, scoffed about them being ridiculous organics, and then flew off, heading to who knows where and to who knows what, only knowing his answers had to be out there somewhere.

'I will find the answer I require to get stronger, Ryan…and when I do, I hope you'll be ready.'

With that, he disappeared into the horizon as Ryan and the others enjoyed the fact that they could simply play some dodge ball and not worry about anything but that right now…

'It's good to have friends like them.' Ryan thought with a smile, just before getting pushed into the sand by said friends, 'And it's good to be home.'


End file.
